CUBA, 


AND 


THE    CUBANS; 


COMPRISING 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  ISLAND  OF  CUBA; 

ITS    PRESENT    SOCIA-L,    POLITICAL,   AND    DOMESTIC    CONDITION 

ALSO,    ITS    RELATION    TO    ENGLAND    AND    THE 

UNITED    STATES. 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF  "LETTERS  FRO^l  CUBA." 

!^JJL 

WITH    AN   APPENDIX, 


CONTAINING  IMPORTANT 
ON    ANNEXAT 


AND   A  RE', PLY    TO    SF.NOR  8ACO 
FROM   THE    SPANISH. 


NEW     YORK: 

SAMUEL  HUESTON,  139  NASSAU  STREET. 

GEORGE  P.  PUTNAM.  155  BROADWAY. 

1850. 


^ 


R-SE 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1850,  by 

SAMUEL    HUESTON, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


STEREOTYPED  BY  BANER  AND  PALMER, 

201   William  st.,  corner  of  Frankfort,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 


No  excuse  is  deemed  necessary  for  publishing  a  volume 
on  Cuba,  at  a  time  when  the  attention  both  of  England 
and  the  United  States  is  directed  toward  that  island  with 
eager  interest.  Political  events  have  transpired  so  rapidly 
within  the  last  two  years,  that 

"  That  of  an  hour's  age  doth  hiss  the  speaker." 

We  are  borne  onward  by  a  force  which  seems  hastening 
some  great  consummation.  If  all  do  not  agree  as  to  the 
result  which  these  changes  are  to  bring,  no  one  can  shut 
his  eyes  to  the  changes  themselves.  They  have  multiplied 
within  the  year  ;  they  are  multiplying  ;  they  will  continue 
to  multiply.  The  conservative  and  the  radical — the  ultra 
whig  and  the  ultra  democrat — are  all  overwhelmed  by  the 
resistless  course  of  things,  if  they  stop  even  but  a  moment 
to  contemplate  it.  What  is  to  be  done  ?  Shall  we  attempt 
to  stay  this  irresistible  progression,  and  be  swept  away  by 
it ;  or  shall  we  rather  do  what  we  may  to  control  and 
direct  it  ? 

As  to  Cuba,  a  word  only  need  be  said.  With  or  with 
out  the  United  States,  she  will  soon  be  free  from  Spanish 
dominion  ;  and — which  is  of  greater  consequence  to  this 


IV  PREFACE. 

country — if  free  without  our  aid  or  influence,  she  falls  to 
England.  How  will  the  United  States  relish  the  possession 
by  that  nation  of  a  point  which  commands  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  and  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  ? 

The  analysis  of  Cuban  taxes  in  these  pages  is  believed 
to  be  the  first  of  the  kind  ever  attempted  ;  and  it  is  hoped 
the  chapters  on  the  social  and  domestic  manners  of  the 
Cubans,  on  religion  and  education,  will  interest  the  reader. 

The  Appendix  contains  much  important  statistical  infor 
mation,  together  with  a  translation  of  a  pamphlet  from  the 
Spanish  in  reply  to  Don  Jose  Antonio  Saco,  on  the  subject 
of  the  annexation  of  Cuba  to  the  United  States.  This  last 
is  given  to  illustrate  the  feeling  among  the  Cubans  them 
selves,  and  to  show  the  opinions  held  by  the  leading  Cuban 
planters. 

It  should  be  stated  that  the  larger  part  of  the  first 
chapter  of  this  work  is  abridged  from  the  historical  notice 
of  Cuba  in  "  Turnbull's  Travels  in  Cuba." 

New  York,  March  1st,  1850. 


CUBA  AND  THE  CUBANS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Cuba  discovered  by  Columbus. — Names  of  the  Island. — Character 
of  the  Natives. — Town  of  Baracoa. — Havana  burnt  in  1538. — Seat 
of  GoyernmenrTfansferred  to  Havana. — Succession  of  Governors. 
— Cultivation  of  Tobacco  and  Sugar  introduced  about  1580.— 
Slavery  introduced  at  the  same  time. — Depredations  of  Pirates. — 
A  Commissioner  of  the  Inquisition  comes  from  Carthagena  to  re 
side  in  Havana. — Jamaica  taken  by  the  English. — Apprehensions 
of  the  Cubans. — The  English  repulsed. — Walls  commenced  round 
the  City  of  Havana  in  1663. — City  of  Santiago  destroyed  by  an 
Earthquake. — Invasion  of  the  Island  by  the  English  in  1762.-r>- 
Morro  Castle  taken  by  them  July  30th,  and  the  City  of  Havana  on 
the  14th  of  August. — Distribution  of  the  Spoils. — Peace  concluded 
with  England  in  1763. — The  Island  restored  to  the  Spaniards.— 
Results  of  the  wise  Policy  of  Las  Casas. — Great  Fire  in  1802.— 
News  of  the  Proceedings  of  Napoleon  in  Spain. — Its  Effects  in 
Cuba. — Negro  Conspiracy. — Different  Captains-General. 

CUBA,  the  finest  and  largest  of  the  West  India  Isl 
ands,  was  discovered  by  Columbus  himself,  on  the  28th 
day  of  October,  1492,  and  was  named  by  him  Juana, 
in  honor  of  Prince  John,  the  son  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa 
bella,  the  sovereigns  of  Aragon  and  Castile. 

Upon  the  death  of  Ferdinand,  the  island  was  called 
Fernandina.  It  afterward  received  the  name  of  San 
tiago,  as  a  mark  of  reverence  for  the  patron  saint  of 
Spain,  and  still  later,  the  inhabitants,  to  illustrate 
their  piety,  gave  it  that  of  Ave  Maria,  in  honor  of  the 
Holy  Virgin. 

Notwithstanding  these  several  titles,  the  island  ig 
still  principally  known  by  its  original  Indian  name  of 


5  J     :  .  .       • 

k      '  VA.ND 


Cuba  ;  a  name  which  it  bore  when  the  great  navigator 
first  landed  on  its  shores,  and  which  in  all  probability 
it  is  destined  to  retain. 

*  With  regard  to  the  character  of  the  aboriginal  in 
habitants  of  the  island,  it  is  universally  admitted  by 
all  the  Spanish  authors  who  have  written  on  the  sub 
ject,  that  they  were  disinterested  and  docile,  gentle 
and  generous,  and  that  they  received  the  first  discov 
erer,  as  well  as  the  conquerors,  who  followed  in  his 
track,  with  the  most  marked  attention  and  courtesy. 
At  the  same  time  they  are  represented  as  being  en 
tirely  given  up  to  the  enjoyment  of  those  personal 
indulgences,  and  all  the  listlessness  and  love  of  ease, 
which  the  climate  is  supposed  to  provoke,  and  which 
is  said  to  have  amounted  in  the  eyes  of  their  European 
conquerors  to  positive  cowardice  and  pusillanimity. 
They  seldom  spoke  until  first  addressed  by  the  stran 
gers,  and  then  with  perfect  modesty  and  respect. 
Their  hospitality  was  unbounded  ;  but  they  were 
unwilling  to  expose  themselves  to  any  personal  fatigue 
beyond  what  was  strictly  necessary  for  their  subsist 
ence.  The  cultivation  of  the  soil  was  confined,  as  Co 
lumbus  had  observed,  to  the  raising  of  yams,  garban- 
zos,  and  maize,  or  Indian  corn,  but  as  huntsmen  and 
fishermen  they  were  exceedingly  expert.  Their  habili 
ments  were  on  the  most  limited  scale,  and  their  laws 
and  manners  sanctioned  the  practice  of  polygamy. 
The  use  of  iron  was  totally  unknown  to  them,  but  they 
supplied  the  want  of  it  with  pointed  shells,  in  con 
structing  their  weapons,  and  in  fashioning  their  imple 
ments  for  fishing  and  the  chase.  Their  almost  total 
want  of  quadrupeds  is  worthy  of  notice. 

Although  the  island  was  divided  into  nine  principal 
ities,  under  nine  different  caciques,  all  independent  of 
each  other,  )^et  such  was  the  pacific  disposition  of  the 
inhabitants,  that  the  most  perfect  tranquillity  prevailed 

*  TurnbulPs  Travels  in  Cuba. 


THE    CUBANS.  9 

throughout  the  island  at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the 
invaders.  The  several  governments  were  adminis 
tered  in  the  simplest  form,  the  will  of  the  cacique 
being  received  as  law  by  his  subjects,  and  the  age  he 
had  attained  being  in  general  the  measure  of  his  influ 
ence  and  authority,  and  of  the  reverence  and  respect 
with  which  he  was  treated.  Their  religion  was  limited 
to  a  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  to  the 
existence  of  a  beneficent  Deity — un  Dios  remunerador. 
But  their  priests  were  cunning,  superstitious,  or  fa 
natic,  pretending  to  intelligence  with  malignant  spirits, 
and  maintaining  their  influence  over  the  people  by 
working  on  their  fears,  and  practicing  the  grossest  and 
most  ridiculous  extravagances.  No  sanguinary  sacri 
fices  were  resorted  to,  however ;  still  less  could  the 
gentle  race  be  chargeable  with  the  horrid  practices  of 
the  savage  anthropophagi ;  and,  according  to  the  ear 
liest  Spanish  authorities,  they  distinguished  themselves 
beyond  any  other  Indian  nation,  by  the  readiness  and 
docility  with  which  they  received  the  doctrines  of  Chris 
tianity. 

The  town  of  Baracoa,  which  was  called  de  la  Jlsump- 
cion,  was  the  first  that  was  founded,  and  was  for  some 
time  considered  the  capital,  until,  in  the  year  1514, 
the  whole  of  it  had  been  overrun  and  examined.  In 
that  year,  the  towns  of  Santiago  and  Trinidad,  on  the 
southern  side,  were  founded  for  the  purpose  of  facili 
tating  the  communications  of  the  new  colonists  with 
the  Spanish  inhabitants  of  Jamaica.  Near  the  centre 
of  the  island  also  were  established,  soon  after  this 
period,  the  towns  of  Bayamo,  Puerto  Principe,  and 
Santi-Espiritus,  and  that  of  Baracoa  was  considerably 
enlarged.  In  the  sequel,  as  there  was  no  town  toward 
the  north,  that  of  San  Juan  de  los  Remedies  was 
founded ;  and  on  the  25th  of  July,  1515,  at  the  place 
now  called  Batabano,  on  the  south  side  of  the  island, 
was  planted  a  town  with  the  name  of  San  Cristobal  de 
la  Habana,  in  deference  to  the  memory  of  the  illustri- 


10  CUBA    AND 

ous  discoverer ;  but  in  the  year  1519  this  name  was 
transferred  to  the  place  where  the  capital  now  stands. 
The  leaning  of  the  Spaniards  toward  the  southern  side 
of  the  island  appears  to  have  arisen  from  their  previ 
ous  possession  of  Jamaica  and  the  Costa  Firme ;  as 
till  then  they  had  no  idea  of  the  existence  of  the  Flori- 
das,  or  of  New  Spain ;  the  expedition  for  the  conquest 
of  which,  as  well  as  the  steps  toward  their  first  dis 
covery,  having  been  taken  from  the  island  of  Cuba. 

The  town  of  Baracoa  having  first  been  raised  to  the 
dignity  of  a  city  and  a  bishopric,  was  declared  the  cap 
ital  of  the  island  in  1518,  and  remained  so  till  1522, 
when  both  were  transferred  to  Santiago  de  Cuba.  In, 
1538  the  Havana,  second  city  of  the  name,  was  sur 
prised  by  a  French  privateer,  who  reduced  it  to  ashes. 
This  misfortune  brought  the  governor  of  the  island, 
Hernando  de  Soto,  to  the  spot,  who  lost  no  time  in  lay 
ing  the  foundation  of  the  Castillo  de  la  Fuerza,  one 
of  the  numerous  fortresses  which  still  exist  for  the 
defence  of  the  city.  With  this  protection,  combined 
with  the  advantageous  geographical  position  of  the  har 
bor,  the  ships  already  passing,  charged  with  the  riches 
of  New  Spain,  on  their  way  to  the  Peninsula,  were 
induced  to  call  there  for  supplies  of  water  and  provi 
sions.  In  this  way  the  Havana  began  to  rise  in  impor 
tance  by  insensible  degrees,  insomuch  that  in  1549, 
on  the  arrival  of  a  new  governor,  Gonzalez  Perez  de 
A.ngulo,  he  resolved  on  making  it  his  place  of  resi 
dence.  His  example  was  followed  by  subsequent  gov 
ernors,  and  in  this  way  the  city,  although  without  any 
royal  or  legal  sanction,  came  to  be  silently  regarded  as 
the  capital  of  the  island,  until  in  1589  it  was  formally 
declared  so  by  the  peninsular  government,  at  the  time 
of  the  nomination  of  the  first  captain-general,  El  Ma- 
estre  de  Campo,  Juan  de  Tejada,  who  was  positively 
directed  to  take  up  his  residence  at  the  Havana. 

In  the  annals  of  the  island  the  names  of  the  first 
governors  and  of  their  lieutenants  have  not  been  re- 


THE    CUBANS.  11 

corded  with  a  degree  of  accuracy  that  can  be  altogether 
depended  on.  All  that  is  known  with  certainty  is, 
that  the  early  chiefs  resided  at  Santiago  de  Cuba,  from 
its  being  the  place  where  the  largest  population  was 
collected,  from  its  proximity  to  Jamaica  and  St.  Do 
mingo,  and  from  its  being  the  seat  of  the  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction.  For  the  Havana  and  other  towns  of  infe 
rior  importance,  lieutenants  were  appointed.  This 
system  continued  until  the  year  1538,  when  Hernando 
de  Soto,  who  to  the  rank  of  Jldelantado  of  the  Flori- 
das,  added  the  office  of  governor  of  Cuba,  having  ar 
rived  at  Santiago,  passed  a  few  days  there,  and  then 
proceeded  to  the  continent.  In  his  absence  he  left 
the  government  of  the  island  in  the  hands  of  a  lady, 
Dona  Isabel  de  Bobadilla,  and  gave  her  for  a  colleague, 
Don  Juan  de  Rojas.  '  This  Rojas  had  previously  re 
sided  at  the  Havana,  in  quality  of  lieutenant-governor  ; 
and  it  is  from  this  date  that  the  gradual  transference 
of  the  seat  of  power  from  Santiago  to  the  Havana  may 
be  said  to  have  arisen.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1607 
that  the  island  was  divided  into  two  separate  govern 
ments. 

In  1545,  Don  Juan  de  Avila  assumed  the  govern 
ment,  and  to  him  in  1547  succeeded  Don  Antonio  de 
Chavez,  to  whom  the  Havana  is  indebted  for  its  first 
regular  supply  of  water,  bringing  it  from  the  river 
called  by  the  aborigines  Casiguaguas,  and  by  the 
Spaniards  Chorrera,  a  distance  of  two  leagues  from 
the  city.  At  that  period  the  trade  of  the  place  was 
limited.  The  largest  and  wealthiest  proprietors  were 
mere  breeders  of  cattle ;  as  yet  agriculture  was  very 
little  attended  to,  and  any  actual  labor  performed  con 
sisted  in  exploring  the  neighborhood  in  pursuit  of  the 
precious  metals. 

To  this  governor  succeeded  Dr.  Gonzalo  Perez  de 
Angulo,  who,  according  to  the  historian  Urrutia,  was 
the  first  who  resided  at  the  Havana  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  administration.  At  this  period  the  number 


12  CUBA    AND 

of  cattle  and  the  practice  of  agriculture  had  so  much 
increased  that  the  expeditions  from  the  neighboring 
continent  obtained  their  supplies  at  the  Havana,  and 
from  thence  also  large  quantities  of  provisions  were 
sent  to  the  Terra  Firma.  For  some  time  large  profits 
were  made  by  means  of  these  exports,  more  especially 
in  the  sale  of  horses  for  the  troops  ;  but  the  continen 
tal  settlements,  having  at  length  been  able  to  provide 
for  themselves,  this  source  of  profit  was  dried  up. 

In  the  year  1554  the  government  was  assumed  by 
Don  Diego  de  Mazariegos,  and,  during  his  administra 
tion,  the  Havana  was  again  attacked  and  reduced  to 
ashes  by  the  French,  notwithstanding  the  protection 
supposed  to  be  afforded  by  the  Castillo  de  la  Fuerza. 
The  other  towns  of  the  island  were  also  insulted,  inso 
much  that  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  was  compelled  to 
leave  Santiago  and  take  up  his  residence  at  Bayarno, 
causing  a  serious  misunderstanding  between  the  eccle 
siastical  authorities  and  the  civil  governor. 

To  Mazariegos,  in  1565,  succeeded  Garcia  Osorio, 
and  to  Osorio,  two  years  afterward,  Don  Pedro  Melen- 
dez  de  Avilez,  who  at  the  same  time  held  the  office  of 
Melantado  of  the  Floridas,  administering  the  affairs 
of  the  island  for  a  number  of  years  by  means  of  a  se 
ries  of  lieutenant-governors.  At  this  period,  the  hos 
pital  of  San  Juan  de  Dios,  and  a  church  dedicated  to 
San  Cristobal,  were  erected  at  the  Havana.  This 
church  was  built  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  resi 
dence  of  the  captain-general.  Don  Gabriel  Montalvo 
was  the  successor  of  Melendez,  and  assumed  the  gov 
ernment  in  1576.  In  his  time  the  Franciscan  convent 
was  erected,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  bishop ; 
and  preparations  were  made,  by  the  building  of  suita 
ble  vessels,  for  the  extirpation  of  the  pirates  by  whom 
the  coasts  of  the  island  were  infested.  Don  Francisco 
Carreno,  the  successor  of  Montalvo,  assumed  the  com 
mand  in  1578.  In  his  time  the  weights  and  measures 
of  the  island  were  regulated;  and  vast  quantities  of 


THE    CUBANS.  13 

timber  were  shipped  to  the  mother-country,  to  con 
tribute  toward  the  construction  of  the  convent  and 
palace  of  the  Escorial. 

During  the  administration  of  Don  Gaspar  de  Torres, 
the  successor  of  Carreno,  who  arrived  in  1580,  not 
only  Cuba,  but  the  neighboring  islands  of  Jamaica  and 
St.  Domingo,  were  more  than  ever  annoyed  by  piratical 
incursions.  The  expense  occasioned  by  the  attempts 
to  suppress  them  was  so  great,  that  it  became  neces 
sary  to  impose  a  special  tax,  called  la  sisa  de  piragua, 
to  cover  it. 

At  this  period  was  begun  the  cultivation  of  tobacco 
and  the  sugar-cane,  the  labor  of  which  was  found  to 
be  too  great  for  the  indolent  aborigines,  whose  numbers 
had  already  been  materially  diminished  by  the  state  of 
slavery  to  which  they  had  been  reduced.  It  was  to 
promote  the  production  of  these  new  luxuries,  that  a 
royal  license  was  first  obtained  for  importing  negroes 
from  the  coast  of  Africa. 

The  continued  presence  and  increasing  numbers  of 
the  pirates  began  to  give  a  factitious  importance  to  the 
castellanos  of  the  fortress,  which  protected  the  harbor 
of  the  Havana,  and  sheltered  the  lanchas  and  piraguas 
and  the  guardacostas  themselves.  A  military  power 
thus  insensibly  arose,  which,  coming  into  collision  with 
that  of  the  civil  governor,  caused  a  great  deal  of  dis 
turbance  and  confusion.  The  next  governor,  Don 
Gabriel  de  Lujan,  who  arrived  in  1584,  came  to  such 
a  serious  rupture  with  Don  Diego  Fernandez  de  Qui- 
nones,  the  Castellano  de  la  Fuerza,  that  the  real  audi- 
encia  of  the  district,  at  the  instigation  of  Quinones, 
took  it  upon  them  to  suspend  Don  Gabriel  from  his 
administration  of  the  government,  but  some  time  after 
ward  restored  him.  On  the  application  of  the  ayunta- 
miento,  the  two  offices  were  afterward  combined  and 
vested  in  the  same  individual.  During  Lujan's  admin 
istration,  several  hostile  demonstrations  were  made 
against  the  island ;  but  none  of  them  were  seriously 


14  CUBA    AND 

prosecuted.  The  attacks  of  a  diminutive  enemy,  the 
ant,  became  so  alarming,  however,  that  it  was  thought 
necessary  by  the  Cabildo,  or  chapter  of  the  diocese,  to 
elect  a  new  patron  saint,  and  to  confer  that  dignity 
on  San  Marcial,  the  bishop  agreeing  to  celebrate  his 
fiesta,  and  keep  his  day  yearly,  on  the  condition  of  his 
interceding  for  the  extermination  of  the  hormigas  and 
vivijaguas. 

The  successor  of  Lujan,  Don  Juan  de  Tejada,  was 
the  first  governor  who  arrived  with  the  rank  of  captain- 
general,  in  which  was  included  the  same  powers  and 
jurisdiction  enjoyed  by  the  vireyes  of  the  continental 
possessions  of  the  crown.  Tejada  was  directed  to 
commence  the  construction  of  the  two  fortresses  now 
known  as  the  Morro  and  the  Punta,  and  for  this  pur 
pose  brought  with  him  the  Engineer  Don  Juan  Bau- 
tista  Antoneli ;  and  he  was  authorized  to  negotiate 
with  the  provinces  of  New  Spain  for  obtaining  contri 
butions,  by  which  to  support  the  garrison,  which  at 
that  time  was  limited  for  all  the  three  fortresses  to  300 
men.  After  the  building  of  the  Morro  was  begun,  it 
is  said  that  Antoneli  having  ascended  the  heights  of 
the  Cabana,  remarked  to  those  about  him,  that  from 
that  point  the  city  and  the  Morro  itself  would  be  com 
manded.  This  opinion  having  been  communicated  to 
the  government,  the  construction  of  the  present  for 
tress  of  the  Cabanas  was  immediately  determined  on. 
During  Tejada' s  government  the  Havana  received  the 
title  of  Ciudad ;  the  ayuntamiento  was  increased  to 
the  number  of  twelve  regidores ;  and  a  coat  of  arms 
was  given  to  it  by  Philip  the  Second,  bearing  on  a  blue 
field  three  castles  argent,  in  allusion  to  the  Fuerza, 
the  Morro,  and  the  Punta,  and  a  golden  key  to  signify 
that  it  was  the  key  of  the  Indies ;  the  whole  sur 
mounted  by  a  crown. 

Tejada  was  succeeded  as  captain-general  in  1602 
by  Don  Pedro  Valdes,  who  made  strong  representa 
tions  to  the  court  on  the  subject  of  the  excesses  com- 


THE    CUBANS.  15 

mitted  by  the  pirates,  by  whose  incursions  Santiago 
had  been  almost  depopulated.  The  bishop,  on  return 
ing  there  from  Bayamo  on  a  temporary  visit,  was 
seized,  tied,  stripped,  and  carried  off  by  the  pirate. 
Giron,  and  detained  for  eighty  days  on  board  his  ves 
sel,  until  he  was  ransomed  by  the  payment  of  200 
ducats  and  five  arrobas  of  beef  by  Don  Gregorio  Ra 
mos,  who,  after  rescuing  the  bishop,  succeeded  in  de 
stroying  the  pirate.  From  the  insecurity  of  Santiago, 
this  bishop  attempted,  but  without  success,  to  establish 
his  cathedral  at  the  Havana.  The  supreme  govern 
ment,  however,  to  stay  the  progress  of  depopulation  at 
Santiago,  resolved  on  establishing  there  a  subordinate 
governor  with  the  rank  of  capitan  a  guerra,  and  ap 
pointed  to  the  office  Don  Juan  de  Villaverde,  the  Cas- 
tellano  of  the  Morro,  who  was  charged  with  the  defence 
of  his  new  jurisdiction  against  the  pirates. 

The  successor  of  Valdes  was  Don  Gaspar  Ruiz  de 
Pereda  in  1608 ;  and  that  of  Pereda  in  1616  was  Don 
Sancho  de  Alquiza.  This  last  had  been  previously 
the  governor  of  Venezuela  and  Guiana,  and  he  is  re 
corded  to  have  applied  himself  with  energy  to  the 
working  of  the  copper  mines  at  Cobre  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Santiago ;  the  superintendence  of  which  was 
for  some  time  annexed  to  the  office  of  captain-general 
of  the  Havana,  although  it  wras  afterward  transferred 
to  the  lieutenant-governor  at  Santiago.  The  annual 
produce  of  that  period  was  about  2000  quintals,  and 
the  copper  extracted  is  represented  to  have  been  of  a 
quality  superior  to  any  thing  then  known  in  the  foun- 
deries  of  Europe.  Alquiza  died  after  having  enjoyed 
his  office  only  two  years ;  and  by  a  provision  of  the 
real  audiencia,  he  was  succeeded  in  the  temporary  com 
mand  by  Geronimo  de  Quero,  the  castellano  of  the 
Morro,  whose  military  rank  was  that  of  sargento 
mayor.  From  this  period  till  the  year  1715  it  ap 
pears  that,  in  the  nomination  of  captains-general,  a 
declaration  was  constantly  introduced  to  the  effect  that 


16  CUBA    AND 

the  castellanos  of  the  Morro,  on  the  death  of  the 
captain-general,  should  succeed  to  the  military  com 
mand  of  the  island ;  but  since  the  year  1715  an  officer 
has  been  specially  named  with  the  rank  of  tenicnte 
rey  or  cabo-subalterno,  whose  functions  acquire  an 
active  character  only  on  the  death  or  incapacity  of  his 
chief. 

Doctor  Damian  Velasquez  de  Contreras  succeeded 
Alquiza  in  1620,  and  Don  Lorenzo  de  Cabrera,  the 
next  captain-general,  was  appointed  to  the  command 
iri  1626.  A  charge  was  brought  against  Cabrera,  that 
he  had  sold  a  carg6  of  negroes  in  the  Havana  without 
a  royal  license;  which  being  backed  by  other  com 
plaints,  the  licenciado  Don  Francisco  de  Prada  was 
sent  out  to  inquire  into  them,  and  by  him  the  captain- 
general  was  sent  home  to  the  Peninsula,  when  de  Prada 
assumed  the  civil  and  political  jurisdiction,  and  as 
signed  the  military  command  to  Don  Cristobal  de 
Aranda,  the  alcaide  of  the  Morro.  During  the  joint 
administration  of  de  Prada  and  Aranda  it  was  resolved 
to  shut  up  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  by  means  of  a 
chain  drawn  across  it,  a  resolution  which  is  described 
by  the  historians  of  the  period  as  having  been  exceed 
ingly  extravagant  and  absurd. 

The  next  captain-general  was  Don  Juan  Bitrian  de 
Viamonte,  who  began  his  administration  in  1630,  and 
projected  the  construction  of  two  strong  towers,  the 
one  in  Chorrera,  and  the  other  in  Cojimar,  but  the 
plan  was  not  carried  into  effect  until  the  year  1646. 
At  this  period  a  certain  good  woman,  known  by  the 
name  of  Magdalena  de  Jesus,  established  a  sort  of 
female  sanctuary,  called  a  beaterio,  which  gave  rise  to 
the  establishment  of  the  first  female  monastery  of 
Santa  Clara. 

Fears  of  an  invasion  of  the  island  by  the  Dutch 
now  began  to  be  entertained  in  the  Peninsula ;  and  as 
Viamonte's  health  was  infirm,  he  was  removed  to  the 
presidency  of  St.  Domingo ;  and,  in  1634,  Don  Fran- 


THE    CUBANS.  17 

cisco  Riano  y  Gamboa  was  sent  out  to  replace  him. 
Gamboa  introduced  important  reforms  in  the  collection 
of  the  revenue.  He  established  a  court  of  accounts  at 
the  Havana,  to  which  was  afterward  referred  the  exam 
ination  of  all  public  disbursements,  not  only  for  the 
island  of  Cuba,  but  for  Porto  Rico,  the  Floridas,  and 
that  portion  of  the  Spanish  navy  called  the  windward 
fleet,  la  Jirmada  de  Barlovento.  At  first,  a  single 
accountant-general  was  named ;  but  a  second  was 
afterward  added,  with  instructions  to  visit  alternately 
the  various  parts  where  the  colonial  revenue  was  col 
lected  or  disbursed.  During  the  government  of  Gam- 
boa,  also,  a  commissioner  of  the  Inquisition  came  from 
Carthagena  to  reside  in  the  Havana ;  to  provide  for 
w^hose  support  one  of  the  canons  of  the  cathedral  of 
Santiago  was  suppressed.  The  bishops  had  for  some 
time  acquired  a  taste  for  residing  in  the  capital,  and 
other  members  of  the  ecclesiastical  cabildo  began  to 
follow  their  example,  soon  degenerating  into  an  abuse 
which  loudly  called  for  a  remedy. 

The  successor  of  Gamboa  was  Don  Alvaro  di  Luna 
y  Sarmiento,  who  commenced  his  administration  in 
1689,  and  in  the  course  of  it  completed  the  castle  of 
Chorrera,  two  leagues  to  leeward  of  the  Havana,  and 
the  Tor r eon  de  Cojimar,  one  league  to  windward. 

In  164T,  Sarmiento  was  succeeded  by  Don  Diego  de 
Villalva  y  Toledo,  who,  in  lp.50,  was  replaced  by  Don 
Francisco  Gelder.  ^  During  Gelder's  administration, 
the  establishment  of  the  Commonwealth  in  England 
gave  rise  to  serious  apprehensions  for  the  safety  of  the 
Spanish  possessions  in  America ;  especially  when  it 
became  known,  that,  in  1655,  a  squadron  had  sailed 
by  order  of  the  Protector,  the  ostensible  object  of  which 
was  the  reconciliation  of  the  English  colonies  to  the 
new  form  of  government,  but  with  the  real  design  of 
capturing  Jamaica.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add, 
that  this  design  was  successfully  executed ;  that  the 
Spanish  defenders  of  Jamaica  were  dispersed,  and  the 


18  CUBA    AND 

governor  killed,  and  that  many  of  the  inhabitants  re 
moved  in  consequence  to  Cuba.  An  attempt  on  the 
Havana  was  also  made  by  this  expedition,  but  the 
assailants  were  successfully  resisted.  The  failure  is 
ascribed  by  the  Spaniards  to  a  sort  of  miracle  per 
formed  in  their  favor.  The  invaders  having  landed 
on  a  very  dark  night,  they  became  so  terrified,  accord 
ing  to  the  Spanish  authorities,  by  the  noise  of  the  land- 
crabs  and  the  flitting  light  of  the  fire-flies,  which  they 
took  for  an  enemy  in  ambuscade,  that  they  fled  to  their 
ships  in  the  utmost  disorder  and  confusion,  i/ 

The  next  captain-general  was  Don  Juan  Montano, 
who  arrived  in  1656.  During  his  time  the  Spaniards 
of  Jamaica  continued  to  defend  themselves  under  two 
distinguished  hacendados,  Don  Francisco  Proenza, 
and  Don  Cristobal  de  Isasi ;  who,  for  their  exertions 
in  preserving  the  island  to  the  Spanish  crown,  received 
thanks  and  honors  from  the  court.  Orders  were  also 
sent  out  to  the  other  Spanish  settlements  in  America 
to  lend  their  assistance  to  the  Jamaica  loyalists ;  and 
a  strong  expedition  was  prepared  in  the  Peninsula, 
having  the  same  object  in  view.  In  the  end,  however, 
in  consequence  of  the  sickness  which  prevailed  on 
board  the  ships,  the  expedition  never  sailed,  and  the 
Spaniards  were  compelled  to  evacuate  the  island. 

Montano  having  died  within  a  year  after  his  arrival, 
was  succeeded  in  the  command,  in  1658,  by  Don  Juan 
de  Salamanca,  in  whose  time  the  incursions  of  the 
pirates  became  more  troublesome  than  ever,  on  all  the 
coasts  of  Spanish  America.  As  many  of  them  had 
the  audacity  to  sail  under  the  flags  of  France  and 
England,  the  court  of  Spain  addressed  itself  to  these 
governments  on  the  subject,  and  received  for  answer 
that,  having  no  countenance  or  authority  from  either, 
the  Spaniards  were  at  liberty  to  deal  with  them  as 
they  thought  fit.  y  At  this  period  the  French,  having 
established  themselves  in  the  island  of  Tortuga,  began 
from  thence  by  slow  degrees,  first  on  hunting  parties, 


THE    CUBANS.  19 

and  afterward  more  permanently,  to  make  encroach 
ments  on  the  neighboring  coast  of  the  island  of  St. 
Domingo ;  until,  in  the  end,  they  had  completely  taken 
possession  of  the  western  part  of  it,  and  created  there 
a  respectable  colony.  According  to  the  Spanish  au 
thorities,  the  French  colonists  of  St.  Domingo  formed 
an  alliance  with  the  English  in  Jamaica,  and,  without 
the  sanction  of  either  of  their  governments  in  Europe, 
made  piratical  incursions  in  the  Spanish  territories, 
and  at  length  became  so  formidable,  that  the  Spaniards 
found  it  necessary  to  fortify  their  possessions,  and  to 
combine  together  for  their  mutual  protection.  The 
most  remarkable  of  these  piratical  leaders  was  the 
Frenchman  Lolonois  and  the  celebrated  Morgan. 

In  1663,  arrived  as  captain-general  Don  Rodrigo  de 
Flores  y  Aldana,  who  in  the  following  year  was  re 
lieved  by  Don  Francisco  Orejon  y  Gaston,  previously 
governor  of  Gibraltar  and  Venezuela.  Fearing  the 
neighborhood  of  the  English  in  Jamaica,  Gaston  ap 
plied  himself  to  the  construction  of  the  walls  of  the 
Havana ;  and  to  meet  the  expense  he  was  authorized 
to  levy  half  a  real  on  each  quarter  of  an  arroba  of 
wine,  nearly,  equal  to  a  gallon,  which  might  be  sold  in 
the  city  ;  but  this  having  given  rise  to  complaints,  the 
Spanish  government  by  a  royal  cedula  directed  that 
$20,000  a  year  should  be  raised  for  the  purpose  in 
Mexico ;  and  that  as  much  more  should  be  procured 
a,s  the  captain-general  could  extract  by  other  means 
from  the  inhabitants  of  the  Havana. 

The  next  governor  was  Don  Rodriguez  de  Ledesma, 
who  assumed  his  functions  in  1670,  and  prosecuted 
the  work  of  fortification  with  the  greatest  ardor.  He 
also  prepared  a  naval  armament  for  the  protection  of 
the  coast.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  working  of  the 
copper  mines  near  Santiago  was  abandoned,  and  that 
the  reconstruction  of  the  cathedral  in  that  city  was 
begun ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  slaves  employed  in 
the  mines  were  sent  to  the  Havana  to  work  on  the 


20  CUBA    AND 

fortifications.  During  Ledesma's  administration,  a 
French  party  landed  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  island, 
to  the  number  of  800,  under  the  command  of  one 
Franquinay,  with  the  intention  of  plundering  the  city 
of  Santiago,  but  they  withdrew  without  doing  any 
damage,  alarmed,  according  to  the  Spanish  accounts, 
by  hearing  the  mere  cry  of  "  al  arma."  In  1675  the 
city  of  Santiago  was  destroyed  by  an  earthquake,  a 
calamity  from  which  the  Havana  and  the  western  parts 
of  the  island  appear  to  be  exempt.  Ledesma  com 
plained  bitterly  to  his  government  that  the  English 
authorities  in  Jamaica  countenanced  and  encouraged 
the  attacks  of  the  pirates,  and  applied  for  leave  to 
make  reprisals.  He  was  succeeded  by  Don  Jose  Fer 
nandez  de  Cordoba  Ponce  de  Leon,  who  began  his 
administration  in  1680,  and  continued  the  work  of  for 
tification  with  energy. 

In  1687  Ponce  de  Leon  was  replaced  by  Don  Diego 
de  Viana  e  Hinojosa,  and  to  him  in  1689  succeeded 
Don  Severino  de  Manzaneda  y  Salinas,  during  whose 
administration  the  city  of  Matanzas  was  founded,  the 
first  lines  of  it  having  been  traced  on  the  10th  of  Oc 
tober,  1693,  in  presence  of  the  captain-general,  and 
many  other  persons  of  distinction.  The  etymology  of 
the  name  Matanzas  is  much  disputed  by  the  antiqua 
rians  of  Cuba,  some  ascribing  it  to  the  slaughter  of 
Indians  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  of  the  island,  con 
tending  that  the  supposed  Indian  name  Yumuri,  that 
of  one  of  the  two  rivers  between  which  the  city  stands, 
is  in  fact  a  synonym  in  bad  Spanish  for  this  general 
massacre.  Others  contend,  with  equal  pertinacity, 
that  it  was  the  natives  who  killed  the  Spaniards,  while 
passing  from  one  side  of  the  bay  to  the  other,  having 
mutinied  against  their  masters  and  used  their  oars 
successfully  as  weapons  of  oifence.  Seven  of  the 
Spaniards  are  said  to  have  attempted  to  escape,  but 
were  carried  prisoners  to  a  neighboring  Indian  town, 


THE    CUBANS.  21 

where  they  were  all  put  to  death  except  one,  who 
escaped  to  tell  the  tale  of  the  Matanza. 

The  next  captain-general  was  Don  Diego  de  Cor 
doba  Lazo  de  la  Vega ;  to  him  in  1702  succeeded  Don 
Pedro  Nicolas  Benitez  de  Lugo,  who  died  soon  after 
his  arrival.  The  next  captain-general  was  Don  Pedro 
Alvarez  de  Villarin,  who  arrived  in  1706,  and  died  the 
same  year.  After  him,  in  1708,  came  the  Marques 
de  Casa  Torres,  ex -governor  of  the  Floridas,  who  hav 
ing  had  some  dispute  with  the  auditor  Don  Jose  Fer 
nandez  de  Cordoba,  was  suspended  from  his  office  by 
the  real  audiencia. 

The  foundling  hospital,  or  Casa  de  Ninos  Espositos, 
vulgarly  called  La  Cuna,  was  founded  in  1711  by 
Don  Fray  Jeronimo  de  Valdes,  an  institution  which 
still  exists,  and,  like  that  of  St.  Pierre  in  the  island 
of  Martinique,  is  only  resorted  to  by  the  white  inhab 
itants,  the  presentation  of  a  colored  infant  being  a 
thing  unknown.  This  fact,  whether  it  arise  from  the 
sense  of  shame  being  stronger  in  the  white  mother,  or 
from  natural  affection  being  stronger  in  the  colored 
mother,  is  not  unworthy  of  investigation. 

Don  Vicente  Raja  arrived  as  captain-general  in  the 
year  1716,  bringing  with  him  a  royal  cedula,  declaring 
that  in  the  event  of  his  absence,  illness,  or  death,  the 
civil  and  military  government  should  be  transferred  to 
the  teniente  rey ;  in  case  of  his  absence,  illness,  or 
death,  to  the  castellano  del  Morro ;  and  failing  the 
castellano,  to  the  sergeant-major  of  the  garrison ;  and 
failing  him,  to  the  senior  captain  of  infantry,  so  as 
that  in  no  case  the  civil  and  military  jurisdictions 
should  ever  afterward  be  divided. 

In  the  following  year  Raja  returned  to  Spain,  and 
in  1718  Don  Gregorio  Guazo  arrived  as  his  successor. 
Nothing  material  occurred  during  his  administration, 
and  he  was  replaced  in  1724  by  Don  Dionisio  Mar 
tinez  de  la  Vega.  In  his  time  a  serious  difference 
arose  on  the  occasion  of  an  appointment  to  the  office 


22  CUBA    AND 

of  lieutenant-governor  of  Santiago.  On  the  10th  of 
May,  1728,  Lieutenant- Colonel  Don  Juan  del  Hoyo 
took  possession  of  the  local  government,  and  a  few 
months  afterward  a  royal  cedula  arrived  prohibiting 
his  admission.  On  this  the  captain-general  required 
his  removal ;  but  the  ayuntamiento  opposed  it,  saying 
it  was  one  thing  to  remove  an  officer,  and  another  not 
to  admit  him.  Lawyers  were  consulted  on  the  point ; 
and  the  court  of  chancery  of  the  district  was  referred 
to,  who  decided  that  the  ayuntamiento  were  in  the 
right,  and  the  captain-general  in  the  wrong.  At  this 
juncture  the  windward  fleet,  la  Jirmado  de  Barlo- 
vento,  arrived  under  the  command  of  Don  Antonio  de 
Escudero,  who,  in  his  zeal  for  the  royal  service,  and 
without  any  authority  but  that  of  force,  laid  hold  of 
Del  Hoyo,  removed  him  from  his  employment,  and 
carried  him  off  to  Vera  Cruz.  No  sooner  had  he  re 
gained  his  liberty  than  he  returned  to  the  island ;  and 
having  visited  the  town  of  Puerto  Principe,  which  at 
that  time  formed  part  of  his  jurisdiction,  the  people 
rose  against  him,  and  having  once  more  made  him 
prisoner,  sent  him  in  irons  to  the  Havana,  from 
whence  the  captain-general  had  him  carried  to  Madrid. 
The  next  captain-general  was  Don  Juan  Francisco 
Guemes  y  Horcasitas,  who  arrived  in  the  year  1734, 
and  to  him,  in  1746,  succeeded  Don  Juan  Antonio 
Tineo  y  Fuertes,  who  died  in  the  following  year.  He 
was  the  first  captain-general  who  thought  it  necessary 
to  establish  a  separate  hospital  for  the  reception  of 
dissolute  and  incorrigible  women ;  for  which  purpose 
the  revenues  of  vacant  ecclesiastical  offices  were  to  be 
applied.  The  date  of  the  termination  of  the  govern 
ment  of  Martinez  has  not  been  very  clearly  defined : 
he  was  succeeded  provisionally  by  Don  Diego  de  Pena- 
losa,  as  teniente  rey  de  la  plaza,  and  was  replaced 
in  1747  by  Don  Francisco  Cagigal  de  la  Vega,  who 
had  previously  been  lieutenant-governor  at  Santiago. 
On  leaving  the  command  in  1760,  the  government  was 


23 

assumed  provisionally  by  the  Teniente  Rey  Don  Pedro 
Alonzo;  and  he  was  relieved,  in  1761,  by  Don  Juan 
do  Prado  Porto  Carrero,  whose  government  was  made 
so  memorable  by  the  capture  of  the  city  by  the  En 
glish. 

The  Habaneros  themselves  seem  desirous  to  com 
memorate  the  event  by  retaining  English  names  for 
the  points  of  the  coast  where  the  landing  of  the  expe 
dition  was  effected,  and  for  the  fortresses  which  were 
occupied  preparatory  to  the  descent  on  the  Morro.  In 
the  Memorias  de  la  Real  Sociedad  Patriotica  there  are 
also  some  interesting  notices  of  the  event. 

The  captain-general,  according  to  some  accounts, 
was  apprised  of  the  fact  that  the  English  were  pre 
paring  an  expedition  for  the  invasion  of  the  island ; 
but  although  he  had  made  certain  arrangements  for  the 
reception  of  the  enemy,  it  is  said  that  he  never  seri 
ously  believed  that  an  invasion  was  about  to  take 
place.  He  made  it  his  business,  however,  to  ascer 
tain  what  number  of  men  might  be  relied  on  for  the 
defence  of  the  island ;  and  even  the  proportion  of 
slaves  to  whom  arms  might  be  safely  intrusted.  Jun 
tas  were  frequently  assembled  for  the  discussion  of 
these  matters  during  the  three  months  which  inter 
vened  between  the  first  rumor  of  the  invasion  and  the 
actual  descent  of  the  enemy.  At  length,  on  the  6th 
of  June,  1762,  when  a  fleet  of  at  least  250  sail  had 
been  reported  as  off  the  coast,  the  captain-general  still 
refused  to  believe  that  this  was  the  hostile  expedition ; 
insisting  that  it  must  be  a  homeward-bound  convoy 
from  Jamaica.  On  the  morning  of  that  day,  he  is  said 
to  have  gone  over  to  the  Morro  for  the  purpose  of  ob 
serving  in  person  the  movements  of  the  fleet ;  and 
when  he  found  that  the  garrison  of  the  fortress  had 
been  called  out  under  arms  by  the  teniente  rey^  Don 
Dionisio  Soler,  he  expressed  his  disapprobation  of  the 
proceeding — declaring  it  to  be  imprudent,  and  desiring 
that  the  troops  might  be  sent  back  to  their  quarters. 


24  CUBA    AND 

After  mid-day,  however,  he  received  notice  from  the 
Morro  that  the  ships  of  war  were  approaching  the 
coast,  and  appeared  from  their  manoeuvres  to  be  pre 
paring  to  effect  a  landing.  Confounded  by  his  own 
previous  incredulity,  the  governor  at  length  gave  or 
ders  to  prepare  for  a  vigorous  defence.  The  conster 
nation  produced  by  the  ringing  of  alarm  bells  and  the 
moving  of  artillery  was  extreme.  Such  of  the  inhab 
itants  as  possessed  arms  made  haste  to  put  them  in 
order,  and  those  who  were  not  so  provided  presented 
themselves  at  the  sala  real  to  ask  for  them ;  but  there 
were  only  3500  muskets  to  be  found,  the  greater  part 
of  them  unfit  for  service,  together  with  a  few  cara 
bines,  sabres,  and  bayonets.  These  were  soon  distrib 
uted;  but  in  the  end  a  great  number  of  people  re 
mained  unarmed  for  want  of  the  needful  supplies. 
The  juntas  were  again  assembled,  consisting  of  the 
captain-general,  the  teniente  rey,  the  marques  del  real 
transporte,  general  of  marines,  and  the  commissary- 
general,  Don  Lorenzo  Montalvo,  to  whom  were  added 
the  Conde  de  Superunda,  as  viceroy  of  Peru,  arid  Ma- 
jor-General  Don  Diego  Tabares,  as  governor  of  Car- 
thagena,  who  happened  to  be  then  at  the  Havana  on 
their  return  to  Europe.  Orders  were  issued  by  this 
junta  to  Colonel  Don  Carlos  Caro  to  resist  the  landing 
of  the  enemy  on  the  beach  of  Cogimar  and  Bacuranao, 
which  they  seemed  to  threaten  ;  adding  to  his  own 
regiment,  De  Ediniburgo,  the  rest  of  the  cavalry  then  in 
the  city,  together  with  several  companies  of  the  infan 
try  of  the  line,  and  a  few  lancers,  amounting  altogether 
to  about  3000  men. 

The  expedition  sailed  from  Spithead  on  the  5th  of 
March,  1762.  Its  chief  object  was,  after  seizing  on 
the  French  possessions  in  the  West  Indies,  to  make  a 
descent  on  the  Havana,  which  was  justly  considered 
as  the  principal  key  to  the  vast  possessions  of  the 
Spanish  crown  in  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  Amer 
ican  continent ;  the  possession  of  which  would  effectu- 


THE    CUBANS.  25 

ally  interrupt  all  communication  between  the  Penin 
sula  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  thereby  give  the 
court  of  the  Catholic  king  a  distaste  for  the  alliance 
with  that  of  St.  Cloud.  The  first  rendezvous  of  the 
forces  to  be  combined  with  the  original  expedition  was 
at  Martinique,  and  Sir  James  Douglas  was  ordered  to 
unite  his  squadron,  stationed  at  Port  Royal,  Jamaica, 
with  that  of  Sir  George  Pocock,  at  the  Cape  of  St. 
Nicholas,  in  the  island  of  St.  Domingo.  From  this 
point  of  union  the  expedition  had  the  choice  of  two 
courses  in  proceeding  toward  the  Havana.  That 
which  would  have  been  the  more  easy  of  execution  was 
to  sail  down  the  southern  side  of  the  island,  and  doub 
ling  the  western  cape,  present  itself  before  the  Havana. 
But  as  this  would  have  occupied  more  time,  which  the 
maintenance  of  secrecy  rendered  valuable,  Sir  George 
Pocock  resolved  on  following  the  shorter  and  more  dif 
ficult  as  well  as  dangerous  course  of  the  old  Bahama 
channel,  on  the  north  side  of  the  island.  This  resolu 
tion  had  the  double  effect  of  taking  the  enemy  unpre-* 
pared,  and  of  obstructing  the  only  course  by  which  the 
French  could  send  relief  from  St.  Domingo.  On  the 
27th  of  May  the  admiral  hoisted  his  flag,  and  the 
whole  convoys,  consisting  of  200  vessels  of  all  classes, 
were  soon  under  sail  for  the  old  Bahama  passage. 
The  Alarm  and  Echo  frigates,  sent  in  advance,  dis 
covered,  on  the  2d  of  June,  five  ships  of  the  enemy, 
the  frigate  Tetis,  the  sloop  of  war  Fenix,  a  brig,  and 
two  smaller  vessels.  An  engagement  immediately 
took  place,  in  the  issue  of  which  one  of  the  light  ves 
sels  escaped,  the  other  four  being  captured.  On  the 
evening  of  the  5th  the  Pan  of  Matanzas  was  visible ; 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  6th,  being  then  five  leagues 
to  the  eastward  of  the  Havana,  the  necessary  orders 
were  issued  for  the  commanders  of  the  boats  of  the 
squadron  and  the  captains  of  the  transports,  with  re 
gard  to  the  debarkation  of  the  troops.  This  duty  was 
intrusted  to  the  Honorable  Commodore  Keppel,  at 


26  CUBA    AND 

whose  disposal  were  placed  six  ships  of  the  line,  seve 
ral  frigates,  and  the  large  boats  of  the  squadron.  The 
admiral  followed  at  two  in  the  afternoon,  with  thirteen 
ships  of  the  line,  two  frigates,  the  bomb  vessels  of  the 
expedition,  and  thirty-six  store  boats.  On  presenting 
himself  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  for  the  double 
purpose  of  reconnoitering  the  enemy  and  making  the 
feint  of  an  attack  to  cover  the  operations  of  Commo 
dore  Keppel,  he  ascertained  that  twelve  ships  of  the 
line  and  a  number  of  merchant  vessels  were  lying  at 
anchor  within  it.  On  the  following  morning  the  admi 
ral  prepared  his  launches  for  landing  a  body  of  sailors 
and  marines  about  four  miles  to  the  westward  of  the 
Havana.  At  the  same  time  Lord  Albcmarle  effected 
the  landing  of  the  whole  of  the  troops,  without  opposi 
tion,  between  the  rivers  Bacuranao  and  Cogimar,  about 
six  miles  from  the  Morro.  A  body  of  men  having 
appeared  on  the  beach,  Commodore  Keppel  directed 
the  Mercury  and  Bonnetta  corvettes  to  disperse  them ; 
but  a  much  greater  number  having  soon  afterwrard  pre 
sented  themselves  with  the  evident  intention  of  disput 
ing  the  passage  of  the  Rio  Cogimar  with  the  main  body 
of  the  expedition,  Captain  Hervey  in  the  Dragon  was 
sent  to  bombard  the  fort,  which  afforded  the  enemy 
protection,  but  which  very  soon  surrendered,  leaving  a 
free  passage  for  the  advance  of  the  invaders. 

From  the  prisoners  taken  on  the  2d  of  June  in  the 
Tetis  and  Fenix,  the  presence  of  a  naval  force  in  the 
harbor  became  known  to  the  English,  together  with 
the  fact  that  most  of  the  enemy's  ships  had  completed 
their  supplies  of  water,  and  were  nearly  ready  for  sea. 
Till  then  the  governor,  as  has  been  stated,  was  almost 
wholly  unprepared.  The  first  notice  he  had  of  the 
actual  approach  of  the  expedition  was  obtained  from 
the  crew  of  the  small  schooner,  which  escaped  from 
the  pursuit  of  the  Alarm  and  the  Echo.  As  soon  as 
he  became  convinced  of  the  fact,  the  governor,  as  we 
have  seen,  assembled  a  council  of  war,  composed  of  the 


THE    CUBANS.  27 

chief  officers  under  his  command.  At  this  junta  de 
guerra  the  plan  of  defence  was  arranged,  and  a  firm 
resolution  was  taken  to  resist  the  invasion  to  the  last 
extremity.  The  defence  of  the  Morro,  on  the  posses 
sion  of  which  the  fate  of  the  Havana  in  a  great  mea 
sure  depended,  was  intrusted  to  Don  Luis  de  Velasco, 
commander  of  the  Reyna  ship  of  the  line,  to  whose 
gallantry  and  perseverance  Sir  George  Pocock,  in  his 
subsequent  report  to  the  admiralty,  pays  a  just  tribute 
of  commendation.  His  second  in  command,  the  Mar 
ques  de  Gonzales,  commander  of  the  Aquilon  ship  of 
the  line,  followed  in  all  respects  the  example  of  Va- 
lesco,  dying  sword  in  hand  in  defence  of  his  flag.  The 
defence  of  the  Punta  Castle  was  in  like  manner  as 
signed  to  a  naval  officer,  Don  Manuel  Briseno,  who 
had  a  friend  in  the  same  branch  of  the  service  for  his 
second  in  command.  This  arrangement  gave  deadly 
offence  to  the  officers  of  the  army,  who  thought  them 
selves  unjustly  superseded  in  the  post  of  honor  and  of 
danger ;  but  it  was  urged  in  excuse,  that  naval  officers 
were  better  acquainted  than  those  of  the  infantry  or 
the  cavalry  with  the  use  of  artillery ;  and  as  the  naval 
squadron  had  become  useless  by  being  locked  up  in 
the  harbor,  this  was  the  only  way  in  which  they  could 
be  advantageously  employed. 

Before  the  governor  could  assemble  the  militia  of 
the  island  under  arms,  he  thought  it  necessary  to  de 
clare  war  by  proclamation  against  Great  Britain. 
When  his  whole  force  was  at  length  assembled,  it  was 
found  in  gross  numbers  greatly  to  exceed  that  of  the 
invaders.  It  consisted  of  nine  squadrons  of  cavalry, 
including  in  all  810  men  ;  the  regiment  of  the  Ha 
vana  TOO ;  two  battalions  of  the  regiment  de  Espana 
1400 ;  two  battalions  of  the  regiment  de  Aragon 
1400 ;  three  companies  of  artillery  300 ;  seamen  and 
marines  of  the  squadron  9000 ;  militia  and  people  of 
color  14,000— making  a  grand  total  of  27,610.  The 
greater  part  of  the  Spanish  force  was  stationed  in  the 


28  CUBA    AND 

town  of  Guanabacao,  on  the  side  of  the  bay  opposite 
to  the  Havana,  between  the  points  where  the  invad 
ing  forces  had  landed,  in  order  to  prevent  them  from 
turning  the  head  of  the  harbor  and  attacking  the  city 
by  land.  uThe  British  force  was  divided  into  five 
brigades,  amounting,  with  detachments  from  Jamaica 
and  North  America,  to  a  total  of  14,041  land  forces. 
At  daybreak,  on  the  7th,  the  troops  were  already  on 
board  the  boats  arranged  in  three  divisions — the  cen 
tre  commanded  by  the  Honorable  Augustus  Hervey ; 
the  right  wing  by  Captains  Barton  and  Drake ;  and 
the  left,  by  Captains  Arbutlmot  and  Jekyl.  The  first 
brigade  was  also  the  first  to  land  ;  and  as  soon  as  the 
troops  had  formed  on  the  beach,  Lord  Albemarle 
took  the  command,  and  marched  in  the  direction  of 
the  city,  which  he  did  without  further  molestation 
as  soon  as  the  Cogimar  batteries  had  been  silenced. 
His  excellency  established  his  head  quarters  in  Cogi 
mar  for  the  night ;  the  troops  were  served  with  rations 
under  arms  ;  and  several  pickets  were  advanced  to  the 
eminences  overlooking  the  Havana.  After  a  succes 
sion  of  attacks  on  the  part  of  Lord  Albemarle,  and  a 
continued  bombardment  of  the  castle,  the  Morro  sur 
rendered  on  the  30th  of  July,  and  the  town  itself  on 
the  14th  of  August,  succeeding. 

The  spoils  seized  by  the  captors  were  of  great  value, 
and  the  distribution  was  a  subject  of  much  discontent ; 
and  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  partition,  which  gave 
three  or  four  pounds  to  a  soldier  or  a  sailor,  whose  life 
was  equally  exposed  with  that  of  his  superiors,  and 
100, OOO/.  to  an  admiral  or  a  commander-in-chief,  was 
far  from  being  impartial.  In  the  distribution  of  the 
prize-money  Sir  George  Pocock  was  placed  on  the 
same  footing  with  Lord  Albemarle,  and  Commodore 
Keppel  with  Lieutenant-General  Elliot ;  the  shares  of 
the  two  former  having  amounted  to  122,697/.  10s.  6d. 
each,  and  those  of  each  of  the  two  seconds  in  command 
to  243539/.  10^.  Id.  The  whole  spoil  was,  in  fact. 


THE    CUBANS.  29 

equally  divided  between  the  two  services,  having 
amounted  altogether  to  736,185/.  3s.,  or  368,092/. 
11s.  6d.  each.  But  although  the  services  and  the 
chiefs  were  placed  on  an  equality,  the  same  rule  could 
not  be  observed  with  the  officers  and  privates.  The 
share  of  a  major-general  was  6816/.  10s.  Qbd. ;  that 
of  a  brigadier-general,  1947£.  lls.  7d. ;  that  of  an 
officer  of  the  staff,  564/.  14s.  Qd. ;  that  of  a  captain, 
184/.  4s.  7?d. ;  that  of  a  subaltern,  116/.  3s.  0%d. ; 
that  of  a  sergeant,  8/.  18s.  Sd. ;  that  of  a  corporal, 
6/.  16s.  6cL,  and  that  of  a  private  soldier,  4/.  Is.  Shd. 
The  share  of  a  captain  in  the  navy  was  1600/.  10s. 
lOd. ;  of  a  lieutenant,  234/.  13s.  3!d. ;  of  other  com 
missioned  officers,  118/.  5s.  Hid. ;  of  warrant  officers, 
17/.  5s.  3d.,  and  of  ordinary  seamen,  3/.  14s.  93d. 

The  peace  having  been  concluded  in  1T63,  the  Conde  ^ 
de  Ricla  arrived  at  the  Havana  on  the  30th  of  June, 
bringing  the  powers  conferred  by  the  treaty  for  the 
restoration  of  the  British  conquests  in  the  island  of 
Cuba,  and  accompanied  by  General  O'Reilly,  with 
four  ships  of  the  line,  a  number  of  transports,  and 
2000  men  for  the  supply  of  the  garrison.  On  their 
arrival  they  were  received  by  the  English  with  every 
demonstration  of  respect.  On  the  7th  of  July  the 
keys  of  the  city  were  formally  delivered  up  to  the 
Conde  de  Ricla,  on  whom  the  government  had  been 
conferred,  and  the  English  garrison  was  embarked  on 
its  return  to  Europe. 

The  restoration  of  the  island  to  the  Spaniards  is.  / 
regarded  by  the  native  writers  as  the  true  era  fromr 
whence   its   aggrandizement   and   prosperity  is  to  be 
dated.     It  was  during  the  administration  of  the  first 
governor  that  the  new  fortresses  of  Sa,n  Carlos  and 
Atares  were  erected,  and  the  enlargement  and  rebuild 
ing  of  the  Morro  and  the  Cabanas  were  begun.     The 
old  h6spitals  were  placed  on  a  better  footing,  and  new 
ones  were  built.     The  court  of  accounts,  and  the  whole 
department  of  finance,  received  a  fresh  impulse  and  a 


30  CUBA    AND 

distinct  form;  and  an  intendant  was  named,  who, 
among  other  arrangements,  for  the  first  time  estab 
lished  the  aduana,  and  created  a  custom-house  reve 
nue,  the  duties  having  been  first  levied  on  the  15th  of 
October,  1764. 

The  Conde  de  O'Reilly,  as  inspector-general  of  the 
army,  succeeded  in  organizing  and  placing  on  a  respect 
able  footing  the  regular  troops,  as  well  as  the  militia 
of  the  island.  The  city  of  the  Havana  having  been 
divided  into  districts,  the  streets  named,  and  the 
houses  numbered,  the  truth  came  to  be  known,  that 
the  capital  contained  materials  for  the  formation  of  a 
battalion  of  disciplined  white  militia.  Beginning  with 
the  formation  of  a  single  company,  the  governor  ap 
pointed  lieutenants,  sergeants,  and  corporals  from  the 
regular  troops  of  the  garrison,  and,  after  a  personal 
inspection,  he  followed  the  same  course  with  the  other 
companies.  Adopting  this  principle  in  the  other  towns 
of  the  island,  he  soon  succeeded  in  realizing  his  ideas, 
and  creating  a  considerable  force  on  which  the  govern 
ment  had  every  reason  to  rely.  When  the  two  white 
battalions  of  the  Havana  and  Guanabacao  were  com 
pleted,  it  was  still  found  that,  with  the  addition  of  the 
stationary  regiment  of  regulars  and  the  other  troops  of 
the  garrison,  there  would  not  be  a  sufficient  force  for 
the  defence  of  the  capital,  so  that  the  idea  of  forming 
two  other  battalions  presented  itself,  the  one  of  blacks, 
the  other  of  people  of  color,  and  was  immediately  car 
ried  into  effect. 

Don  Diego  Manrique  assumed  the  supreme  com 
mand  in  1765,  but  died  within  a  few  months  after  his 
arrival.  He  was  succeeded  in  1766  by  Don  Antonio 
Maria  Bucarely,  who  prosecuted  with  energy  the  con 
struction  of  the  fortifications  begun  by  the  Conde  de 
Ricla.  Bucarely  paid  great  attention  to  the  due  ad 
ministration  of  justice,  and  was  distinguished  by  the 
affability  of  his  manners,  the  facility  he  afforded  of 
access  to  his  person,  and  the  readiness  with  which  he 


THE    CUBANS.  31 

heard  and  redressed  the  grievances  of  the  people ; 
making  it  a  boast  that  he  had  succeeded  in  adjusting 
differences  and  compromising  lawsuits  which  had  been 
pending  for  forty  years.  When  afterward  appointed 
viceroy  of  New  Spain,  the  minister  for  the  department 
of  the  Indies  announced  to  him,  by  command  of  the 
king,  as  an  unexampled  occurrence,  that  during  the 
whole  period  of  his  administration  not  a  single  com 
plaint  against  him  had  reached  the  court  of  Madrid. 
Another  of  his  merits  with  the  people  was  the  gentle 
ness  and  address  with  which  he  effected  the  expulsion 
of  the  Jesuits,  who  had  come  to  the  island  with  Don 
Pedro  Augustin  Morel,  and  had  acquired  there  large 
possessions.  The  church  attached  to  their  seminary 
is  that  which  is  now  the  cathedral  of  the  Havana. 

On  the  promotion  of  Bucarely  in  1771,  the  Marques 
de  la  Torre  was  named  his  successor,  and  became  one  of 
the  most  popular  captains -general  who  have  ever  admin 
istered  the  government.  He  was  replaced  in  1777  by 
Don  Diego  Jose  Navarro,  who  introduced  great  im 
provements  in  the  administration  of  justice,  and  the 
police  of  the  tribunals,  and  in  regulating  the  duties 
and  functions  of  the  abogados^  escribanos,  procura- 
doresy  tasadores,  and  other  officers  and  dependents  of 
the  courts  of  law,  in  which  the  greatest  abuses  had 
previously,  and  have  since  prevailed.  The  base  and 
deteriorated  coin,  which  had  been  for  some  time 
in  circulation  was  also  called  in  and  abolished  in  the 
time  of  Navarro.  In  the  course  of  the  war  which  had 
again  broken  out  between  England  and  Spain,  an  ex 
pedition  was  prepared  at  the  Havana  for  the  recovery 
of  the  Floridas,  which  produced  the  surrender  of  Pen- 
sacola,  and  the  submission  of  the  garrison.  This  gave 
rise  to  a  belief  that  the  English  would  make  reprisals 
on  Cuba  or  Porto  Rico,  and  led  to  the  dispatch  of  re 
inforcements  on  a  large  scale  to  the  garrison  of  the 
Havana.  The  peace  of  1783  soon  followed,  on  which 
Lord  Rodney  prepared  to  return  to  England;  and 


32  CUBA    AND 

taking  the  Havana  in  his  way,  Prince  William  Henry, 
afterward  William  IV.,  having  obtained  leave  from 
the  admiral  to  go  on  shore,  was  so  delighted  with  the 
city  and  the  entertainments  that  were  offered  him,  that 
he  remained  there  three  days,  and  did  not  return,  if 
we  may  believe  the  Spanish  writers,  until  Lord  Rod 
ney  sent  to  his  royal  highness  to  say,  that  if  he  did  not 
re-embark  immediately,  the  squadron  would  set  sail, 
and  leave  him  behind.  The  Spanish  general  of  ma 
rines,  Solano,  is  said  to  have  given  the  prince  a  break 
fast  which  cost  him  $4000. 

During  the  years  which  immediately  succeeded  the 
peace  there  appear  to  have  been  other  changes  in  the 
colonial  government  besides  those  already  noticed,  be 
ginning  with  Don  Luis  Gonzaga,  followed  by  the  Conde 
de  Galves,  Don  Bernardo  Troncoso,  Don  Jose  Espe- 
leta,  and  Don  Domingo  Cabello.  In  the  time  of  this 
first  Espeleta  there  was  again  a  great  outcry  as  to  the 
number  of  lawyers  in  the  colony,  and  particularly  at 
the  Havana,  where  there  were  already  no  less  than 
eighty-five  abogados  with  an  equally  liberal  proportion 
of  the  inferior  classes  of  the  profession.  Steps  were 
taken  to  prevent  their  increase,  and  a  regulation  was 
enforced  on  the  19th  of  November,  1784,  prohibiting 
the  admission  of  candidates  and  the  immigration  of 
professors  of  jurisprudence  from  the  other  colonies ; 
and  no  lawyer  who  had  studied  his  profession  in  Spain 
was  to  be  allowed  to  practice  it  in  the  courts  of  the 
island  until  six  years  at  least  after  he  had  been  called 
to  the  bar  in  the  Peninsula. 

Don  Luis  de  las  Casas  arrived  as  captain-general  in 
1*790,  and  the  period  of  his  administration  is  repre 
sented  by  all  Spanish  writers  as  a  brilliant  epoch  in 
the  history  of  the  island.  To  him  it  is  indebted  for 
the  institution  of  the  Sociedad  Patriotic^  which  has 
ever  since  done  so  much  to  stimulate  the  activity,  and 
promote  the  improvement  of  education,  agriculture, 
and  trade,  as  well  as  literature,  science,  and  the  fine 


THE    CUBANS.  33 

arts,  combined  with  large  and  liberal  views  of  public 
policy.  To  Las  Casas,  also,  is  the  island  indebted  for 
the  establishment  of  the  Casa  de  Beneficencia,  hav 
ing  been  begun  by  a  voluntary  subscription  amount 
ing  to  $36,000.  The  female  department  was  at 
first  a  separate  institution,  situated  in  the  extra 
mural  portion  of  the  city,  but  was  added  to  the  other 
on  the  completion  of  the  buildings  in  1794.  In 
place  of  a  monument  to  Las  Casas,  which  he  un 
doubtedly  deserved  as  much  as  any  of  his  prede 
cessors,  an  inscription  has  been  conspicuously  en 
graved  in  the  common  hall  of  the  school  for  boys, 
declaring  that  on  its  erection  it  had  been  expressly 
dedicated  to  the  memory  of  the  founder  of  the  institu 
tion  ;  reminding  the  young  pupils  that  he  had  not  only 
been  the  founder  of  the  Casa  de  Beneficencia,  but  of 
the  first  public  library,  and  the  first  newspaper  which 
had  existed  in  the  island,  and  of  the  patriotic  and  eco 
nomical  society. 

To  increase  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the  island  i^-"" 
he  had  the  sagacity  to  perceive  that  his  object  could 
not  be  better  accomplished  than  by  removing  as  far  as 
his  authority  extended  all  the  trammels  imposed  upon 
it  by  the  old  system  of  privilege  and  restriction.  Dur 
ing  his  administration,  also,  large  sums  were  expended 
in  the  construction  of  roads,  especially  the  great  Cal- 
zada  del  Horcon  and  the  Calzada  de  Guadaloupe ;  but 
since  then  these  highways  have  fallen  so  completely 
out  of  repair,  as  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  to 
have  become  next  to  impassable.  It  was  Las  Casas, 
also,  who  introduced  the  culture  of  indigo ;  and  during 
his  time  the  long  arrear  of  causes  on  the  rolls  of  the 
courts  of  justice  was  greatly  reduced.  The  hurricane, 
which  desolated  the  island  on  the  21st  and  22d  of 
June,  1791,  afforded  Las  Casas  a  fresh  opportunity 
for  displaying  the  great  resources  of  his  mind  in  the 
promptitude  with  which  he  brought  relief  to  the  suffer 
ers.  In  some  districts  the  sudden  rise  of  water  in  the 
2* 


81  CUBA    AND 

rivers  was  most  extraordinary,  when  the  limited  ex 
tent  of  land  from  sea  to  sea  is  considered.  On  the 
bridge  then  just  finished  across  the  Rio  del  Calabazal 
the  water  rose  to  the  height  of  thirty-six  feet  above 
the  parapets ;  and  in  the  town  of  San  Antonio,  where 
the  wells  are  sunk  into  the  bed  of  a  subterraneous 
river,  the  water  rushed  up  through  the  artificial  open 
ings,  and  inundated  the  whole  country. 

The  French  revolution  having  communicated  its 
irresistible  impulse  to  the  western  parts  of  St.  Do 
mingo,  the  cabinet  of  Madrid  took  the  alarm,  and  from 
the  Havana  and  Santiago,  Vera  Cruz,  the  Caracas, 
Maracaybo,  and  Porto  Rico,  collected  a  force  amount 
ing  altogether  to  6000  men,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
suppress  the  insurrection.  The  sanguinary  struggle 
which  ensued,  and  the  reverses  which  befell  the  Span 
ish  troops,  belong  to  another  place.  -  Suffice  it  here  to 
say,  by  way  of  memorandum,  that  the  interest  of  the 
Spanish  government  in  the  island  of  St.  Domingo  was 
definitely  terminated  by  the  treaty  of  Basle,  soon  af 
terward  concluded  with  the  French  republic.  It  was 
to  the  energetic  measures  of  Las  Casas,  at  the  time  of 
this  revolution  in  St.  Domingo,  that  the  island  of  Cuba 
was  indebted  for  the  uninterrupted  maintenance  of  its 
tranquillity,  in  spite  of  the  universal  persuasion  that  a 
conspiracy  had  been  formed  at  the  instigation  of  the 
French,  among  the  free  people  of  color,  to  provoke  a 
similar  revolution  in  Cuba.  On  the  occasion  of  his 
leaving  the  island  in  December,  1796,  a  formal  eulo- 
gium  on  his  merits  as  captain-general  was  recorded  in 
the  archives  of  the  Ayuntamiento  of  the  Havana,  in 
which  are  enumerated  the  great  benefits  he  had  con 
ferred  on  the  community ;  among  which,  the  most 
prominent  are  the  discouragement  of  gambling ;  the 
arrest  of  vagrants  and  vagabonds ;  the  clearing  of  the 
gaols  of  greater  criminals,  and  the  acceleration  of  the 
ends  of  justice  in  civil  causes ;  the  abandonment  of  a 
large  portion  of  his  own  emoluments  for  the  erection 


THE    CUBANS. 


35 


and  support  of  the  Casa  de  Beneficencia  and  other 
charitable  institutions ;  the  reduction  and  pacification 
of  the  maroons  of  Santiago ;  the  suppression  of  the 
conspiracy  among  the  people  of  color  ;  the  prohibition 
of  the  introduction  of  foreign  negroes  who  had  previ 
ously  resided  in  other  colonies,  and  the  expulsion  of 
those  who  had  arrived  from  St.  Domingo ;  the  relief 
of  the  inhabitants  from  the  clothing  of  the  militia  ;  the 
paving  of  the  streets  of  the  Havana ;  the  making  and 
mending  of  roads ;  the  building  of  bridges,  and  the 
construction  of  public  walks  and  alamedas ;  the  erec 
tion  of  a  convent,  a  coliseum,  a  primary  school,  a 
school  of  chemistry,  natural  philosophy,  mathematics 
and  botany ;  the  improvement  of  the  Plaza  de  Toros, 
and  the  rejection  of  the  profit  which  his  predecessors 
had  derived  from  the  supply  of  provisions  for  the 
troops.  In  this  farewell  eulogium  he  is  also  praised 
for  the  very  questionable  virtue  of  promoting  the  gen 
eral  prosperity,  by  the  copious  introduction  of  Bozal 
negroes  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  which  is  stated  to 
have  greatly  extended  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar 
cane,  the  bread-fruit  tree,  the  cinnamon-tree,  and 
other  exotic  plants  of  inestimable  value.  It  is  more 
easy  to  sympathize  in  the  praises  bestowed  upon  him 
for  the  great  hospitality  he  showed  to  the  unfortunate 
refugees  from  St.  Domingo,  and  for  the  exertions  he 
made  and  the  liberality  he  evinced  in  the  institution  of 
the  Patriotic  Society,  the  formation  of  a  public  library, 
the  publication  of  the  Diario,  and  of  the  Guia  de  Fo- 
r  aster  os. 

Las  Casas,  in  1796,  was  succeeded  in  the  govern 
ment  by  the  Conde  de  Santa  Clara,  whose  noble  and 
generous  disposition,  and  the  affability  of  his  manners, 
made  the  loss  of  his  predecessor  less  sensibly  felt.  It 
is  admitted,  however,  that  he  gave  no  encouragement 
to  education,  that  he  had  no  taste  for  letters,  and 
that  in  his  time  the  social  emulation  which  had  pre- 


36  CUBA    AND 

viously  prevailed  sunk  rapidly  into  apathy  and  indif 
ference. 

It  is  a  singular  illustration  of  the  dilatory  habits  of 
the  people,  and  affords  a  sort  of  national  characteristic, 
that  for  many  years  after  the  formal  cession  to  the 
French  of  all  interest  in  St.  Domingo,  the  judges  who 
exercised  the  supreme  civil  jurisdiction  over  the  island 
of  Cuba  and  other  Spanish  settlements  continued  to 
reside  in  the  ceded  territory,  so  that,  in  consequence 
of  the  recommencement  of  hostilities  with  England,  all 
communication  by  sea  was  so  interrupted  as  to  inter 
pose  an  insurmountable  barrier  to  the  exercise  of  the 
right  of  appeal,  and  to  the  ordinary  administration  of 
justice.  The  royal  cedula,  for  the  removal  of  this  tri 
bunal  to  Puerto  Principe,  is  dated  on  the  22d  of  May, 
1797  ;  but  it  does  not  appear  at  what  precise  date  the 
actual  translation  took  place. 

Santa  Clara  was  succeeded,  in  1T99,  by  the  Mar 
ques  de  Someruelos,  whose  administration  continued 
for  a  much  longer  period  than  the  five  years  to  which, 
by  the  practice,  if  not  by  a  formal  regulation  of  the 
Spanish  government,  the  term  of  service  of  the  cap 
tains-general  of  the  colonies  has  been  usually  limited. 
The  public  works  which  serve  to  commemorate  the 
administration  of  Someruelos  are  the  old  theatre  and 
the  public  cemetery ;  the  execution  of  which  last  was 
confided  to  the  bishop,  who  pursued  the  object  with 
zeal,  and  the  work  was  completed  on  the  2d  of  Febru 
ary,  1806.  Its  extent  is  not  great,  containing  only 
22,000  square  yards ;  but  the  walls,  the  chapel,  and 
the  gateway,  are  on  a  scale  which  infers  the  outlay  of 
a  large  sum  of  money.  The  chapel  is  ornamented 
with  a  painting  in  fresco  representing  the  Resurrec 
tion,  with  the  motto,  "  Ecce  nunc  in  pulvere  dor- 
miam."  Someruelos  was  thought  by  some  to  be  stern 
and  severe  toward  the  poorer  classes  of  society,  and  to 
reserve  all  his  affability  and  condescension  for  the  rich. 
On  the  occasion,  however,  of  the  great  fire  of  1802, 


THE    CUBANS.  37 

which  destroyed  the  populous  suburb  of  Jesus  Maria, 
leaving  no  less  than  11,300  individuals  without  a  roof 
to  shelter  them,  the  marques,  moved  by  their  distress, 
circumambulated  the  town,  going  actually  from  door  to 
door  to  petition  for  their  relief. 

The  belief  again  gained  ground  at  the  Havana,  in 
180J,  that  the  English  government  contemplated  a 
descent  on  the  island;  and  measures  were  taken  in 
consequence  to  put  it  in  a  more  respectable  state  of 
defence,  although,  from  want  of  funds  in  the  treasury, 
and  the  scarcity  of  indispensable  supplies,  the  prospect 
of  an  invasion  was  sufficiently  gloomy.  _  The  militia 
and  the  troops  of  the  garrison  were  carefully  drilled, 
and  companies  of  volunteers  were  formed  wherever 
materials  for  them  could  be  found.  The_  French, 
also,  not  content  with  mere  preparations,  made  an 
actual  descent  on  the  island,  first  threatening  Santi 
ago,  and  afterward  landing  at  Batabano.  The  in 
vaders  consisted  chiefly  of  refugees  from  St.  Domingo  ; 
and  their  intention  seems  to  have  been  to  have  taken 
possession  with  a  view  to  colonize  and  cultivate  a  por 
tion  of  the  unappropriated,  or  at  least  unoccupied,  ter 
ritory  on  the  south  side  of  the  island,  as  their  country 
men  had  formerly  done  in  St.  Domingo.  Without 
recurring  to  actual  force,  the  captain-general  prevailed 
on  them  to  take  their  departure  by  a  peaceful  offer  of 
the  means  of  transit  either  to  St.  Domingo  or  to 
France. 

The  news  of  the  abduction,  by  Napoleon,  of  the 
royal  family  of  Spain  reached  the  Havana  by  a  private 
opportunity,  at  the  moment  when  the  cabildo  was  in 
session,  when  every  member  of  it  took  a  solemn  oath 
to  preserve  the  island  for  its  lawful  sovereign.  The 
official  intelligence  did  not  reach  the  city  till  the  17th 
of  July,  1808 ;  when  it  was  brought  from  Cadiz  by 
the  Intendant  Don  Juan  de  Aguilar  y  Amat,  who  ar 
rived  in  the  American  ship  Dispatch.  The  colonial 
government  immediately  declared  war  against  Napo- 


38  CUBA  AND 

leon  ;  and  on  the  20th,  King  Ferdinand  VII.  was  pro 
claimed  with  general  applause.  The  intelligence  from 
Spain  and  the  resolution  of  the  captain-general  were 
immediately  communicated  to  all  the  colonial  authori 
ties  in  Spanish  America.  The  events  in  the  Penin 
sula  soon  began  to  be  felt  at  the  Havana ;  but  the 
demands  of  the  French  intruders  for  the  recognition 
of  their  authority  were  disregarded,  and  the  public 
dispatches  which  came  from  them  were  destroyed. 
The  Infanta  Dona  Carlota  made  similar  pretensions, 
but  these,  like  those  of  the  French,  were  firmly  re 
sisted. 

The  foreign  trade  of  the  island  was  reduced  to  such 
an  extremity  by  the  events  of  the  war,  that  the  local 
authorities  of  the  Havana,  the  ayuntamiento,  and  the 
consulado,  began  seriously  to  deliberate  on  the  expe 
diency  of  throwing  the  trade  open,  and  admitting 
foreign  supplies  on  the  same  terms  with  those  from 
the  Peninsula.  There  was  some  division  of  opinion ; 
but  the  majority  were  for  a  free  competition  on  an 
equal  footing  between  the  Spaniard  and  the  foreigner, 
on  the  ground  that  Spain  alone  was  unable  to  purchase 
or  consume  the  enormous  mass  of  produce  then  ex 
ported  from  the  island ;  and  so  it  was  accordingly 
decided. 

On  the  21st  and  22d  of  March,  1809,  a  serious  dis 
turbance  arose,  the  object  of  which  was  to  invite  the 
return  of  the  French  to  the  island ;  but  this  popular 
movement,  although  considered  dangerous  at  the  time, 
and  viewed  with  alarm  by  the  captain-general,  was 
speedily  put  down  by  the  display  of  firmness  and  reso 
lution  on  the  part  of  all  who  had  any  thing  to  lose,  and 
by  the  prompt  offer  of  their  personal  services  for  its 
suppression.  Proclamations  were  issued,  a  respecta 
ble  force  was  collected,  and  the  Marques  de  Some- 
ruelos  presented  himself  in  person  to  endeavor  to 
pacify  the  discontented.  Tranquillity  was  restored  at 
the  end  of  the  second  day,  with  the  loss  of  only  two 


THE    CUBANS.  39 

or  three  lives ;  but  not  without  the  destruction  of  a 
great  deal  of  property.  The  French  settlers  in  the 
rural  districts  were,  in  this  respect,  the  greatest  suf 
ferers  ;  and  it  had,  in  consequence,  the  effect  of  driv 
ing  away  several  thousands  of  laborious  and  intelligent 
colonists,  who  were  already  deeply  interested  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  island. 

Soon  after  these  events  a  young  man  arrived  from 
the  United  States,  of  whose  proceedings  and  character, 
as  an  emissary  of  King  Joseph,  the  colonial  govern 
ment  had  been  previously  informed.  This  unfortunate 
person,  Don  Manuel  Aleman,  was  not  even  suffered  to 
land.  The  alguazils  went  on  board ;  took  possession 
of  his  papers  and  his  person ;  a  council  of  war  was 
immediately  assembled :  but  his  fate  was  determined 
beforehand;  and  on  the  following  morning,  the  13th 
of  July,  1810,  he  was  brought  out  to  the  Campo  de  la 
Punta,  and  hanged  for  his  temerity. 

The  revolutionary  proceedings  in  the  continental 
provinces  of  Spain  were  now  in  full  career  toward  that 
independence  of  the  mother-country  which  they  have 
since  achieved.  In  the  mean  time,  the  island  of  Cuba 
enjoyed  a  degree  of  tranquillity  quite  remarkable  under 
the  circumstances  of  the  sister  colonies.  This  state 
of  things  was  naturally,  and  not  unjustly,  ascribed  to 
the  political  prudence  and  sagacity  of  the  Margues  de 
Someruelos.  The  colonial  authorities  petitioned  the 
cabinet  of  Madrid  for  the  farther  prorogation  of  his 
government  beyond  the  term  to  which  it  had  been  al 
ready  extended.  But  the  very  fact  of  his  having  given 
so  much  satisfaction  to  the  colonists,  if  we  may  judge 
from  experience  elsewhere,  was  not  likely  to  operate 
with  the  government  of  the  mother-country  in  deciding 
on  a  farther  extension  of  his  stay.  Instead  of  acced 
ing  to  the  prayer  of  the  municipal  functionaries  of  the 
Havana,  the  government  of  Madrid  thought  fit  to  mark 
its  sense  of  the  interference  by  instantly  recalling  the 
title  of  "  Excellencia,"  which,  on  a  former  occasion. 


40  CUBA    AND 

had  been  granted  to  the  ayuntamiento  as  a  special 
mark  of  the  royal  favor,  and  of  which  they  were  not  a 
little  proud. 

The  western  districts  of  the  island  were  visited,  in 
1810,  by  another  of  those  tremendous  hurricanes, 
which  sweep  away  so  much  life  and  property  in  these 
tropical  regions.  The  city  of  the  Havana  was  filled 
with  consternation  and  dismay  ;  the  hopes  of  an  abun 
dant  harvest  were  disappointed ;  in  the  harbor,  so  re 
nowned  for  its  security,  the  ships  of  war  were  driven 
from  their  anchors ;  and  no  less  than  sixty  merchant 
vessels  were  destroyed. 

In  the  time  of  Someruelos  the  Casa  de  Beneficencia 
was  in  danger  of  falling  into  decay ;  but  in  conse 
quence  of  his  earnest  intervention,  the  Junta  de  Taba- 
cos,  which  in  Spain  as  in  France  is  a  royal  monopoly, 
consented  to  purchase  100  slaves,  whose  labor  or  whose 
wages  were  to  furnish  funds  for  the  benefit  of  the  in 
stitution  ;  thus  by  an  extraordinary  perversion  making 
the  practice  of  cruelty  and  injustice  toward  one  por 
tion  of  the  human  family  contribute  to  a  work  of  char 
ity  in  favor  of  another.  The  slaves  were  at  first 
employed  in  the  manufacture  of  cigars,  but  have  lat 
terly  been  hired  out  for  daily  wages  at  whatever  em 
ployment  they  could  obtain. 

A  negro  conspiracy  broke  out  in  1812,  which  ex 
cited  considerable  alarm  in  the  minds  of  the  landed 
proprietors.  That  alarm  was  attended  with  its  usual 
consequences  :  the  negro  leader  Aponte  and  his  asso 
ciates  were  treated  with  unsparing  severity,  such  as 
may  be  supposed  to  have  been  dictated  much  more  by 
the  fears  of  the  hacendados,  than  by  the  strict  justice 
of  the  case. 

The  successor  of  Someruelos  was  Don  Juan  Ruiz  de 
Apodaca,  afterward  Conde  de  Benadito,  who  arrived 
on  the  14th  of  April,  1812  ;  and  he,  for  the  first  time-, 
combined  the  command  of  the  naval  force  on  the  sta 
tion  with  the  office  of  captain-general  of  the  island. 


THE    CUBANS.  41 

This  unprecedented  combination  arose  from  the  fear 
of  the  authors  of  the  constitution  of  Cadiz,  that  their 
work  and  their  representative  would  not  be  well  re 
ceived  in  this  aristocratical  colony.  His  first  duty  on 
his  arrival  was  to  proclaim  the  constitution ;  and  al 
though  it  doubtless  excited  an  extraordinary  sensation, 
it  was  not  openly  resisted. 

The  success  of  Apodaca  in  Cuba  led  to  his  promo 
tion  to  the  rank  of  viceroy  of  Mexico ;  and  on  the  1st 
of  July,  1816,  he  was  succeeded  at  the  Havana  by 
Lieutenant-General  Don  Jose  Cienfuegos.  In  his  time 
the  third  census  of  the  island  was  accomplished.  This 
captain-general  made  himself  exceedingly  unpopular  at 
the  Havana  by  the  severe  measures  of  police  he  pro 
claimed  and  enforced  for  the  suppression  of  projects 
of  sedition,  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  public  tran 
quillity.  He  resorted  to  an  expedient  which  in  other 
great  cities  would  scarcely  have  become  the  subject 
of  serious  complaint — he  caused  the  streets  of  the 
Havana  to  be  lighted  ;  but  this  was  only  a  part  of  the 
proceeding  to  which  the  citizens  objected.  He  in 
sisted,  also,  on  closing  up  the  public  thoroughfares 
immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  the  evening  service 
in  the  churches ;  thus  from  that  early  hour  confining 
the  inhabitants  to  their  own  particular  quarter  of  the 
city,  and  giving  rise  to  clamorous  representations  and 
to  the  very  disturbances  which  it  was  the  object  of  the 
captain-general  to  prevent. 

Senor  Cienfuegos  was  for  some  time  disabled  by 
personal  infirmity  from  the  active  administration  of 
the  government,  and  during  that  period  his  functions 
were  performed  by  Don  Juan  Maria  Echeverri,  as 
cabo  subalterno ;  but  on  the  29th  of  August,  1819,  he 
was  finally  relieved  by  the  arrival  of  his  successor, 
Don  Juan  Manuel  Cagigal,  in  the  Spanish  ship  of  war 
Sabina,  with  a  convoy  of  troops  for  the  supply  of  the 
garrison. 

The  following  year,  1820,  from  the  events  which 


42  CUBA    AND 

took  place  in  the  Peninsula,  was  another  period  of 
trial  and  difficulty  for  a  captain-general  of  the  Ha 
vana  ;  but  it  is  admitted  by  all  parties  that  Cagigal 
succeeded,  by  the  prudence  and  delicacy  of  his  con 
duct,  in  avoiding  the  evils  which  might  have  been 
expected  to  arise  from  the  difficult  and  extraordinary 
circumstances  in  which  he  found  himself  placed.  The 
extreme  affability  of  his  manners,  and  the  perfect 
readiness  with  which  he  received  and  listened  to  all 
who  desired  to  approach  him,  conciliated  universal 
good  will ;  and  it  appears  that  the  high  estimation  in 
which  he  was  held  by  the  inhabitants  excited  in  his 
breast  a  corresponding  feeling,  as,  on  the  termination 
of  his  command,  he  applied  for  and  obtained  the  spe 
cial  grace  from  the  king  of  being  permitted  to  take  up 
his  permanent  abode  in  the  island  ;  and  having  retired 
to  the  town  of  Guanabacao,  he  died  there  some  time 
afterward  a  simple  but  respected  citizen. 

The  next  captain-general  was  Don  Nicolas  Mahy, 
who  arrived  from  Bordeaux  in  the  French  frigate 
Therese,  on  the  3d  of  March,  1821 ;  but  such  was  the 
turbulence  which  prevailed  in  these  troublesome  times 
that  he  proved  unequal  to  the  task  of  controlling  the 
storm,  and  at  length  sunk  under  the  difficulties  which 
surrounded  him.  He  died  on  the  18th  of  July,  1822, 
but  retained  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life  the  direct 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  government. 

After  his  death  the  government  was  assumed  provi 
sionally  by  the  cabo  subalterno,  Don  Sebastian  Kinde- 
lan ;  and  on  the  2d  of  May,  1823,  the  new  captain- 
general  arrived,  Don  Francisco  Dionisio  Vives,  who 
was  afterward  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Conde  de  Cuba. 
It  was  in  his  time  that  the  fourth  and  last  census  of 
the  island  was  accomplished.  It  was  under  Vives, 
also,  that  the  rural  militia  was  organized,  and  that  the 
construction  of  the  fortresses  of  Bahia-honda,  Mariel, 
Jaruco,  and  the  Cabanas  was  begun  or  completed.  It 
was  he  who  divided  the  island  into  three  military  de- 


THE    CUBANS.  43 

partments ;  and  it  was  under  his  auspices  that  the 
temple  was  erected  on  the  Plaza  de  Armas  of  the 
Havana,  on  the  very  spot,  where,  if  tradition  is  to  be 
believed,  the  first  Christian  rite  was  performed  in  the 
New  World.  It  is  doubtless  with  the  view  of  adding 
to  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion  that  the  temple  is 
opened  only  once  a  year,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  day 
that  mass  was  first  said  there,  in  the  presence  of  Co 
lumbus,  to  return  thanks  to  Heaven  for  the  success 
which  had  attended  his  enterprise.  It  was  also  in  the 
time  of  Vives  that  the  two  lunatic  asylums,  el  Depar- 
tamento  de  Dementes,  were  added  to  the  Casa  de 
Beneficencia  /  and  it  is  recorded  of  him  that  he  never 
failed  to  preside  at  the  meetings  of  the  institution,  and 
to  animate  by  his  presence  the  drooping  zeal  of  his 
colleagues  in  the  direction. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  1832,  Don  Mariana  Ricafort 
took  possession  of  the  government ;  and  on  the  1st  of 
June,  1834,  he  was  succeeded  by  Don  Miguel  Tacon, 
whose  administration  terminated  on  the  16th  of  April, 
1838,  when  Don  Joaquin  de  Espeleta,  who  had  for 
some  time  resided  at  the  Havana  with  the  rank  of 
sub-inspector-general  of  the  troops,  and  second  cabo 
subalterno,  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain- 
general,  not  provisionally,  as  had  been  usual  on  former 
occasions,  but  como  proprietario,  to  use  a  form  of 
expression  in  constant  use,  as  applied  to  public  offices 
in  the  language  of  Castile  as  well  as  in  that  of  France. 

General  Espeleta  marked  his  career  by  a  straight 
forward  course,  strongly  exemplified  in  his  putting 
down  all  obnoxious  and  costly  practices  to  obtain  li 
censes  and  passports,  which  were  favored,  both  by 
those  preceding  and  succeeding  him,  from  sordid  and 
ignoble  motives.  His  uprightness  could  not,  however, 
wash  out  the  political  stain  of  his  birth :  for,  by  a 
mere  chance,  Espeleta  was  born  at  Havana.  He  was 
consequently  soon  removed,  and  before  the  regular 
term  of  five  years,  allotted  to  such  offices  in  Spanish 


44  CUBA    AND 

America.  The  Prince  of  Anglona,  the  next  captain- 
general  in  order  of  time,  was  a  gentlemanly  "and  cour 
teous  chief  who,  after  one  year's  command  in  1841, 
left  the  charge  of  the  island  to  the  noble-minded  Don 
Geronimo  Valdez,  a  man  whose  whole  life  had  evinced 
a  consistent  love  of  liberty,  scarcely  ever  met  with  in  a 
Spanish  soldier,  for  such  he  was.  Being  informed 
that  there  was  a  conspiracy  on  foot,  and  that  many 
young  men  talked  in  a  revolutionary  strain,  he  an 
swered  :  "  I  have  a  powerful  army  at  my  command ; 
let  the  conspirators  sally  forth,  and  I  shall  destroy 
them,  but  not  before."  This  liberality  to  the  Cubans, 
and  his  conciliating  course  toward  the  abolitionist 
Turnbull,  who  had  landed  at  an  unfortified  part  of  the 
island,  for  some  sinister  purpose,  among  the  blacks ; 
and  more  than  all,  his  disinterested  and  faithful  ob 
servance  of  the  treaties  condemning  the  African  slave 
trade,  brought  on  him  the  unrestrained  attacks  of  those 
engaged  or  concerned  in  it  as  capitalists  or  officials  of 
government.  He  was  consequently  hurried  from  his 
station  in  the  most  unceremonious  manner,  and  the 
party  who  vainly  endeavored  to  injure  his  name,  charg 
ing  him  with  motives  treasonable  to  Spain,  found  in 
his  successor  a  man  better  disposed  to  forward  their 
selfish  and  sordid  purposes,  though  for  the  same  rea 
son  equally  calculated  to  alienate  the  hearts  of  the  in 
habitants.  Valdez  had  the  courage  and  honesty  to 
issue,  during  his  short  command,  upward  of  a  thou 
sand  grants  of  freedom  illegally  withheld  by  his  pre 
decessors  from  so  many  Africans  who,  according  to 
the  treaty,  had  become  free.  He  left  the  palace  of 
the  captain-generals  of  Cuba  in  the  same  high-minded 
poverty  in  which  he  had  entered  it. 

In  1843,  General  Leopold  O'Donnell  took  the  com 
mand  of  the  island,  and  never  was  military  despot 
ism  more  successfully  directed  to  destroy  popular 
franchises,  to  establish  individual  oppression  beyond 
the  possibility  of  redress  by  altering  existing  institu- 


THE    CUBANS.  45 

tions,  and  eminently  to  satisfy  the  avaricious  thirst  of 
the  captain-general  and  his  family  and  favorites.  The 
bloody  page  of  the  negro  insurrection,  reported  in  an 
other  part  of  this  work,  was  the  most  prominent  fea 
ture  of  his  governorship.  At  the  close  of  one  of 
General  O'DonnelPs  balls,  his  wife  sent  for  the  baker 
who  had  supplied  the  entertainment,  to  come  at  3 
o'clock  A.M.,  to  take  back  the  loaves  not  used! 
The  baker  refused,  saying  that  he  could  not  sell  them 
except  as  stale  bread,  at  a  very  reduced  price.  To 
this  she  replied  that  she  had  sent  for  him  at  so  early 
an  hour  that  he  might  have  the  chance  of  mixing  it 
with  the  fresh  bread  he  was  to  send  around  to  his  cus 
tomers  that  morning.  She  was  engaged  in  all  kinds 
of  profitable  undertakings  of  the  most  obscure  and  com 
mon  pursuits  in  life;  monopolies  of  the  most  repug 
nant  character  were  introduced  for  her  advantage, 
based  on  the  unbounded  authority  of  a  provincial 
tyrant.  The  cleansing  of  the  sewers,  and  the  locality 
fixed  for  the  reception  of  the  manure  and  dirt  of  the 
city  were  among  the  many  sources  of  wealth  which  she 
did  not  scruple  to  turn  to  her  advantage.  But  nothing 
wras  so  fruitful  to  this  family  of  dealers,  as  the  slave 
trade  which,  it  was  publicly  asserted,  furnished  emolu 
ments  even  to  the  daughter  of  the  captain-general. 
O'Donnell  was  part  owner  of  the  marble  quarries  of 
the  Isle  of  Pines,  whither  he,  by  his  sole  authority, 
sent  to  labor  a  great  number  of  suspected  or  accused 
persons,  without  judgment  or  sentence  passed  on  them. 
The  agency  for  obtaining  passports,  and  other  services 
connected  with  government,  as  published  in  the  Ha 
vana  papers,  exhibits  a  degree  of  immorality  and  defi 
ance  of  public  opinion  hardly  to  be  found  in  any  civil 
ized  country. 

General  Frederico  Roncali,  graced  by  one  of  the  nu 
merous  titles  which  Queen  Christina  has  so  profusedly 
and  undeservedly  bestowed  within  a  very  recent  period, 
took  the  command  of  the  island  in  1848.  His  ridicu- 


46  CUBA    AND 

lous  and  perplexed  action  during  the  movement  of  the 
Round  Island  expedition,  show  how  weak  the  strength 
of  bayonets  is,  where  it  is  unsupported  either  by  the 
confidence  of  the  soldiery,  or  by  the  love  of  the  people 
for  their  rulers.  The  idea  of  marching  out  4000  men, 
and  stationing  them  in  the  central  department  of  the 
island,  and  announcing  to  the  soldiers  that  they  were 
to  receive  double  pay  as  soon  as  the  enemy  landed, 
merely  because  400  Americans  had  taken  their  abode 
in  an  island  700  miles  off,  is  a  tacit  acknowledgment  of 
the  impending  termination  of  Spanish  rule  in  Cuba — 
that  tottering  column  of  European  despotism  in  Amer 
ica.  General  Roncali's  incapacity  was  never  made 
more  manifest,  however,  than  in  his  management  of  the 
Rey  affair.  Don  Cirilo  Villaverde,  author  of  a  novel  en 
titled  "  Cecilia  Valdez,"  and  other  literary  works,  being 
accused  of  corresponding  with  the  editor  of  the  Cuban 
paper  called  La  Verdad,  was  confined  to  the  Havana 
prison  during  his  trial,  which  he  had  no  reason  to  ex 
pect  should  be  fair  or  favorable  in  its  results  to  him. 
While  there,  a  fraudulent  bankrupt,  by  name  Fernan 
dez,  being  on  the  eve  of  escaping,  through  promises 
made  to  the  jail-keeper  Rey,  of  sharing  with  him  the 
imaginary  spoils  of  his  bankruptcy,  Mr.  Villaverde  suc 
ceeded  in  availing  himself  of  the  same  opportunity  to 
fly,  and  save  himself,  rather  than  trust  to  his  innocence 
or  the  irregularity  and  corruption  of  Spanish  military 
justice.  The  result,  fully  establishing  the  moral  weak 
ness  of  a  government  whose  very  agents  turn  against  it, 
served  to  excite  the  anger  and  spiteful  revenge  of 
Roncali.  He  therefore  succeeded,  through  the  consul' 
at  New  Orleans,  Don  Carlos  Espana,  in  abducting  the 
jail-keeper,  who  was  thereby  destined  to  be  severely 
punished,  or  generously  rewarded  should  he  act  as 
witness  against  such  influential  Creoles  as  were  sus 
pected  of  dissatisfaction  to  the  Spanish  government.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  add  any  thing  further  on  this  sub 
ject.  The  American  public  are  sufficiently  acquainted 


THE    CUBANS.  47 

with  the  subsequent  history  of  this  ominous,  sacrile 
gious,  and  insulting  act  of  the  authorized  menial  of  a 
European  monarch  on  the  heretofore  respected  soil  of 
America. 

Whatever  moral  qualities  and  honest  wishes  some  of 
the  captain-generals  may  have  possessed,  they  were 
compelled  to  follow  out  the  restrictions  and  spoliations 
commenced  by  Tacon.  The  path  of  despotism,  when 
justified  by  the  national  excuse  of  holding  a  distant 
colony,  must  always  be  one  of  inevitable  and  progress 
ive  oppression. 

The  historical  sketch  of  Cuba  is  here  concluded. 
The  next  chapter  is  designed  to  furnish  an  abstract  of 
its  political  history,  including  a  notice  of  the  late  in 
surrection,  with  an  account  of  the  remarkable  policy 
which  has  brought  the  island  to  its  present  miserable 
condition. 


48  CUBA    AND 


CHAPTER  II. 

Political  sketch  previous  to  the  XlXth  century. — Indian  population. — 
The  Island  a  military  post. — Commerce  and  Navigation. — Foreign 
trade. — Restrictions  on  trade. — Situation  of  Spain. — Political 
changes  in  1812  and  1820. — The  Constitution  proclaimed. — Ma 
sonic  Societies. — The  old  Spaniards. — Royal  Order  of  1825. — Count 
Villanueva. — Dangers  of  the  Slave  Trade. —  Despotic  Encroach 
ments. — Rejection  of  the  Cuban  Deputies  at  Madrid. — General  Ta- 
con. — His  Tyranny  and  Venality. — His  Removal  effected  by  a  Com 
promise. — Fear  of  a  servile  Insurrection. — Cruel  measures  taken 
against  the  Creoles  and  free  people  of  Color. — The  work  of  the 
Countess  of  Merlin. — Anecdotes. — Insurrections  in  different  parts 
of  the  Island.  Enormities  practiced  by  the  officials  of  Govern 
ment. — Their  effect  upon  the  native  Cubans. — Present  distressing 
Situation  of  the  Island. 

PREVIOUS  to  the  eighteenth  century,  the  history  of 
the  island  of  Cuba  is  mostly  occupied  with  accounts  of 
ihe  settlements  commenced  by  the  first  governor,  Diego 
Velasquez ;  the  noble  defence  of  the  Cazique  Athuei, 
who  was  burned  alive  by  order  of  the  former ;  and  the 
usual  repartimientos  or  distribution  of  the  territory  and 
Indians  among  the  Spanish  settlers,  which,  through  ex 
cess  of  labor,  hastened  the  depopulation  of  the  country. 
During  that  early  period  is  also  noticed  the  sailing  of 
expeditions  to  more  recently  discovered  and  alluring 
regions  ;  the  beginning  of  the  African  slave  trade  ;  and 
the  occasional  descent  and  depredations  of  the  buc 
caneers.  The  latter  were  so  bold,  from  the  scant  pop 
ulation  and  absence  of  fortifications,  that  they  carried 
off  at  one  time  the  venerable  Bishop  Ca,bezas  Altanu- 
rano,  and  at  another,  the  very  bells  of  the  church  and 
the  cannons  of  the  castle  at  St.  lago. 

Soon  after  the  royal  decree  of  1530,  liberating  the 
native  Indians,  the  remnants  of  this  unfortunate  race 
appeared  to  have  congregated  in  towns  such  as  Guana- 


THE    CUBANS.  49 

bacoa,  Guaisabana,  Ovejas,  and  Caneyes-arriba,  and  to 
have  applied  their  efforts  to  simple  husbandry  and  graz 
ing. 

But  the  advance  of  Cuba  must  have  been  extremely 
limited  or  doubtful,  since  the  Bishop  Almendares  esti 
mated  the  population  of  all  the  towns  and  cities  in  1612 
at  6700  inhabitants. 

The  truth  lies  in  the  fact  that,  after  having  exhausted 
the  Indian ..population2  the  Island" was ...only  held  as  a 
military  post  on  the  way  to  the  mines  of  Mexico,  with 
little  else  to  occupy  its  reduced  population  than  the 
ralstn^of^cattle,  on  lands  not  appropriated.  Till  the 
latter  yearfiToF^the  past  century,  commerce  was  not  only 
confined  to  Spanish  merchantmen,  but  to  the  periodical 
voyage  of  the  fleet  belonging  to  the  privileged  India 
Company.  Foreign  trade  has  only  been  authorized  in 
the  present  century,  when  the  European  wars,  forcing 
the  Spanish  flag  from  the  seas,  and  the  encroachment 
of  contraband  trade,  made  it  impossible  to  oppose  it. 

In  the  laws  and  municipal  rights  of  Cuba,  we  notice 
the  same  independent  and  liberal  spirit  which  prevailed 
Tn~aIT  the  settlements  of  Spain  among  the  Moors,  or 
elsewhere,  as  far  as  the  Spanish  settlers  and  their  de 
scendants  were  concerned.  Thus  in  the  sixteenth  and  ^ 
seventeenth  centuries,  public  assemblies  of  citizens  were 
held  to  elect  the  members  of  the  corporations  ;  free  and 
bold  charges  made  and  sustained  against  governors ; 
and  no  taxation  was  permitted  which  was  not  sanc 
tioned  by  these  bodies,  who  exercised  the  same  preroga 
tives  in  the  Spanish  peninsula,  during  the  long  suspen 
sion  of  representative  government.  As  to  the  commer 
cial  restrictions  which  prevented  the  growth  of  this 
beautiful  garden  of  America,  they  did  not  originate  in 
any  right,  expressed  or  implied,  to  control  the  fate  of 
Cuba,  on  the  part  of  the  European  provinces,  but  in 
the  peculiar  notions  of  the  age  on  matters  of  political 
economy.  Equally  injudicious  was  the  system  observed 
in  the  internal  trade  and  relations  between  the  several 
3 


50  CUBA    AND 

Spamsa  provinces  themselves,  whose  wealth  and  phys 
ical  advance  are  to  this  day  obstructed  by  antiquated 
prejudices.  Aside,  therefore,  from  the  measures  adopt 
ed  to  nationalize  the  commerce  and  trade  of  Cuba,  or 
rather  to  direct  their  course  by  legislation,  there  was 
not,  until  the  last  twenty  years,  any  serious  precedent 
or  open  effort  to  justify  a  difference  between  the  po 
litical  rights  of  the  Cubans  and  the  Spaniards  on  the 
soil  of  Cuba.  Were  the  conquest  held  as  the  founda 
tion  of  such  difference,  the  privilege  should  certainly 
attach  to  the  descendants  of  those  who  shed  their  blood 
and  used  their  means  in  the  acquisition  of  the  country 
— not  to  the  recent  emigration,  much  less  to  the  sala 
ried  officers  of  the  government. 

The  recognition  of  the  popular  principle  in  the  Soci- 
edad  Patriotica  and  Consulado,  established  near  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  vast  influence 
derived  therefrom,  and  which,  in  after  times,  gave  a 
liberal  tinge  to  the  local  administration,  is  especially 
worthy  of  notice. 

Struggling  for  her  own  independence,  and  "boldly  con 
fronting  the  ambitious  and  mighty  chieftain  of  the  age, 
Spain,  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century,  ap 
peared  in  a  noble  attitude.  Actuated  by  the  most  sa 
cred  impulses  of  patriotism,  and  intensely  engaged  in 
the  wars  and  policy  of  Europe,  she  could  not  and  did 
not  refuse  whatever  was  requested  by  the  Cuban  assem 
blies.  Cuba,  on  her  part,  repaid  the  liberality  of  the 
mother  country  by  an  unwavering  loyalty.  Unseduced 
by  the  alluring  prospect  of  independence,  and  undis 
mayed  by  repeated  invasions  from  foreign  powers,  she 
shut  her  eyes  to  the  former,  and  boldly  resisted  the 
latter,  at  the  liberal  expense  of  the  treasures  of  the 
island  and  the  lives  of  the  inhabitants. 

This  brings  us  to  a  period  marked  by  fluctuations 
in  the  political  history  of  Spain  and  her  dependen 
cies,  and  it  is  now  to  be  seen  what  were  their  effect 
upon  Cuba. 


THE    CUBANS.  51 

The  political  changes  adopted  in  Spain  in  1812  and 
1820  were  productive  of  similar  changes  in  the  island ; 
and  when  in  both  instances  the  constitution  was  pro 
claimed,  the  perpetual  members  of  the  municipalities 
were  at  once  deprived  of  office,  and  their  successors 
elected  by  the  people.  The  provincial  assembly  was 
called,  and  held  its  sessions.  The  militia  was  organ 
ized  ;  the  press  made  entirely  free,  the  verdict  of  a 
jury  deciding  actions  for  its  abuses  ;  and  the  same 
courts  of  justice  were  in  no  instance  to  decide  a  case  a 
second  time.  But  if  the  institution  of  the  consulado 
was  very  beneficent  during  Ferdinand's  absolute  sway, 
the  ultra-popular  grants  of  the  constitutional  system, 
which  could  hardly  be  exercised  writh  quiet  in  Spain, 
were  ill-adapted  to  Cuba,  though  more  advanced  in 
civilization,  stained  with  all  those  vices  that  are  the 
legitimate  curse  of  a  country  long  under  despotic  sway. 
That  system  was  so  democratic,  that  the  king  was  de 
prived  of  all  political  authority.  No  intermediate 
house  of  nobility  or  senators  tempered  the  enactments 
of  a  single  elective  assembly.  This  sudden  change 
from  an  absolute  government,  with  its  usual  concom 
itant,  a  corrupt  and  debased  public  sentiment,  to  the 
full  enjoyment  of  republican  privileges,  served  only  to 
loosen  all  the  ties  of  decency  and  decorum  throughout 
the  Spanish  community.  Infidelity  resulted  from  it ; 
and  that  veil  of  respect  for  the  religion  of  their  fathers, 
which  had  covered  the  deformity  of  such  a  state  of 
society,  was  imprudently  thrown  aside.  As  the  natu 
ral  consequence  of  placing  the  instruments  of  freedom 
in  the  hands  of  an  ignorant  multitude,  their  minds 
were  filled  with  visions  of  that  chimerical  equality 
which  the  world  is  never  to  realize.  The  rich  found 
themselves  deprived  of  their  accustomed  influence,  and 
felt  that  there  was  little  chance  of  obtaining  justice 
from  the  common  people  (in  no  place  so  formidable  as 
in  Cuba,  from  the  heterogeneous  nature  of  the  popula 
tion),  and  who  were  now,  in  a  manner,  arrayed  against 


CUBA    AND 

them  throughout  the  land.  They,  of  course,  eagerly 
wished  the  return  of  the  old  system  of  absolute  rule. 
But  the  proprietors  only  asked  for  the  liberal  policy 
which  they  had  enjoj^ed  at  the  hands  of  the  Spanish 
monarch ;  not,  most  surely,  that  oppressive  and  non 
descript  government  which,  by  separating  the  interest 
of  the  country  from  that  of  her  nearest  rulers,  and 
destroying  all  means  of  redress  or  complaint,  thrust, 
the  last  offspring  of  Spain  into  an  abyss  of  bloodshed 
and  ruin,  during  the  recent  disgusting  exercise  of  mili 
tary  rule,  in  punishing  by  the  most  arbitrary  and  cruel 
measures,  persons  suspected  of  engaging  in  an  appre 
hended  servile  insurrection. 

•Curing  the   second  period  of  democratic,   or  what 
was    called    constitutional    government,    which    com 
menced  in  1820,  the  masonic  societies  came  into  vogue 
as   they  did    in   the    mother-country.     They  adopted V 
different  plausible  pretexts,  though  to  speak  the  truth,  1 
they  were  little  more  than  clubs  for  amusement  and  \ 
revelry.     One  of  them,  called  the  "  Soles  de  Bolivar , 
went  so  far  as  to  discuss  whether,  in  case  of  a  Colum 
bian  invasion,  it  would  be  more  expedient  to  avoid  a 
collision  in  the  presence  of  the  slaves,  by  giving  way 
peaceably   before    the   invading    army.     Happily   for 
Cuba,  and  certainly  in  consequence  of  the  judicious 
interference  of  the  United  States,  which  foresaw  in  the 
preservation   of  its   tranquillity  the   advantages   of  a 
fruitful  commerce,   the  invasion  did  not  take  place.  ^ 
And  if  the  island  has  since  had  to  lament  the  gradual 
encroachments   of   the    executive,   in   all'  the    several 
branches  of  its  politics  and  administration,  it  has  also 
been  preserved  from  the  sanguinary  results  which  the 
premature  establishment  of  ultra  free  institutions  has 
produced  in  all   the  numerous  countries   which   once 
formed  the  dominion  of  Spain  in  America.     For  the 
difficulty  of  annexation,  from  the  lesser  influence  the 
United  States  then  possessed  among  nations  and  the 
^controlling  importance  of  the  shipping  interest  in  tha-t 


THE    CUBANS.  53 

country,  made  it  unadvisable  for  Cuba  to  launch  into 
a  revolution  unsustained,  and  in  this  way  to  experience 
a  severe  scourge,  which,  at  that  time,  would  have  proved 
the  principal  if  not  the  only  fruits  of  independence  to 
the  first  generation  of  its  recipients.  Under  any  cir 
cumstances  the  subsequent  jealous  policy  of  the  Span 
ish  government  has  been  altogether  unwarranted. 

For  the  discussions  of  the  "  Soles  de  Bolivar"  were  I, 
owing  to  the  countenance  which  the  liberal  government  ' 
gave  to  those  very  societies  ;  a  thing  entirely  uncalled 
for  among  a  people  permitted  to  meet  freely  and  name 
a  portion  of  their  rulers  ;  and  where,  too,  for  political 
ends,  no  property  qualification  was  required ;  a  relin- 
quishment  which,  however  justified  in  a  country  like 
the  United  States,  where  constitutional  rights  ha.ve 
been  exercised  ever  since  colonial  times,  could  not  be 
safely  overlooked  in  one  just  emerging  from  a  despotic 
though  beneficent  government,  and  whose  population 
comprehended  such  discordant  elements. 

A  respectable  portion  of  the  old  Spaniards  residing 
in  Cuba,  were  themselves  desirous  of  upholding  the 
constitutional  system  in  the  island  which  they  saw  tot 
tering  in  Spain.  General  Vives,  who  commanded  at 
that  time,  regarded  the  circumstance  with  anxious  so 
licitude,  and  very  reasonably  inferred  that,  if  the  con 
stitution  of  1812  was  sustained  in  Cuba  after  the 
king's  absolute  power  was  acknowledged  in  Spain,  the 
consequences  would  be  fatal  to  its  dependence,  how 
ever  rational  and  honest  the  views  of  the  constitution 
alists  might  be  considered.  Hence  his  strenuous  ef 
forts  in  1824,  after  the  restoration  of  Ferdinand,  to 
make  the  most  of  the  wild  and  varying  schemes  which 
had  been  proposed  in  the  "  Soles  de  Bolivar,"  under  the 
democratic  institutions,  and  the  relaxation  of  the  reins 
of  government  before  mentioned.  L/The  greatly  reduced 
Spanish  military  force  at  that  time  in  the  island,  and 
the  fact  that  much  of  it  consisted  of  regular  regi 
ments  and  native  militia,  are  sufficient  proof  tha,t  to 


54  c'TJBA    AND 

the  solid  good  sense  of  the  inhabitants,  rather  than 
any  show  of  strength,  should  be  attributed  the  imme 
diate  disappearance  of  those  germs  of  disquietude. 
Not  even  the  weakness  of  General  Kindelan  could  in 
duce  the  planters  to  lose  sight  of  their  chief  interest. 
Though  General  Vives  subsequently  desired  to  impress 
the  constitutional  party  with  the  idea  that  they  might 
be  carried  farther  than  they  meant  to  go,  and  with 
that  view  took  especial  care  that  a  well-concerted 
scheme  for  throwing  off  the  Spanish  yoke  should  ap 
pear  to  have  been  devised,  it  must  be  acknowledged, 
that  notwithstanding  he  caused  the  prosecution  and 
imprisonment  of  many  individuals,  and  occasionally 
the  ruin  and  misery  of  their  families,  he  oftentimes 
also  interfered  to  mitigate  the  appalling  and  unavoida 
ble  excesses  of  those  menials  of  government  who  are 
ever  ready,  under  such  circumstances,  to  exceed  the 
wishes  of  the  leading  statesmen,  and  to  make  political 
difficulties  subservient  to  the  vilest  purposes.  That 
which  should  have  warned  the  Spanish  ministry  of  the 
inexpediency  of  establishing  such  inappropriate  insti 
tutions,  brought  upon  the  island  all  its  subsequent 
misfortunes  ;  namely,  the  Royal  Order  of  1825,  which 
is  the  existing  law  of  the  land,  and  which,  translated, 
reads  as  follows : 

WAR  Department.  The  king  our  master,  in  wrhose 
royal  mind  great  confidence  has  been  inspired  by  your 
excellency's  proved  fidelity,  indefatigable  zeal  in  his 
majesty's  service,  judicious  and  well-concerted  steps 
taken  since  Y.  E.  had  charge  of  the  government,  in 
order  to  keep  in  quietude  his  faithful  inhabitants,  con 
fine  within  the  proper  limits  such  as  would  deviate 
from  the  path  of  honor,  and  punish  such  as  forgetting 
their  duties  would  dare  commit  excesses  in  opposi 
tion  to  our  wise  laws ;  well  convinced  as  H.  M.  feels, 
that  at  no  time  and  under  no  circumstances  whatever 
will  the  principles  of  rectitude  and  love  toward  H.  M. 


THE    CUBANS.  fl'i 

royal  person  be  weakened  which  now  distinguish  Y. 
E.  ;  and  being  at  the  same  time  desirous  of  prevent 
ing  the  embarrassments  which  under  extraordinary  cir 
cumstances  might  arise  from  a  division  in  the  com 
mand,  and  from  the  complicated  authority  and  powers 
of  the  different  officers  of  government,  for  the  import 
ant  end  of  maintaining  in  that  island  his  sovereign 
authority  and  the  public  quiet,  it  has  pleased  H.  M., 
in  conformity  with  the  advice  of  his  council  of  minis 
ters,  to  authorize  your  excellency,  fully  investing  you 
with  the  whole  extent  of  power  wrhich  by  the  royal 
ordinances  is  granted  to  the  governors  of  besieged 
towns.  In  consequence  thereof  H.  M.  most  amply 
and  unrestrictedly  authorizes  Y.  E.  not  only  to  re 
move  from  that  island  such  persons,  holding  offices 
from  government  or  not,  whatever  their  occupation, 
rank,  class,  or  situation  in  life  may  be,  whose  resi 
dence  there  you  may  believe  prejudicial,  or  whose  pub 
lic  or  private  conduct  may  appear  suspicious  to  you, 
employing  in  their  stead  faithful  servants  of  H.  M., 
who  shall  fully  deserve  your  excellency's  confidence ; 
but  also  to  suspend  the  execution  of  whatever  royal 
orders  or  general  decrees  in  all  the  different  branches 
of  the  administration,  or  in  any  part  of  them,  as  Y. 
E.  may  think  conducive  to  the  royal  service  ;  it  be 
ing  in  any  case  required  that  these  measures  be  tem 
porary,  and  that  Y.  E.  make  report  of  them  for  his 
majesty's  sovereign  approval. 

In  granting  Y.  E.  this  marked  proof  of  his  royal 
esteem,  and  of  the  high  trust  your  proven  loyalty  de 
serves,  H.  M.  expects  that  in  due  correspondence  to 
the  same,  Y.  E.  will  use  the  most  wakeful  prudence 
and  reserve,  joined  to  an  indefatigable  activity  and 
unyielding  firmness,  in  the  exercise  of  your  excellen 
cy's  authority,  and  trusts  that  as  your  excellency  shall 
by  this  very  pleasure  and  graciousness  of  H.  M.  be 
held  to  a  more  strict  responsibility,  Y.  E.  will  redou 
ble  his  vigilance  that  the  laws  be  observed,  that  justice 


56  CUBA    AND 

be  administered,  that  H.  M.  faithful  vassals  be  pro 
tected  and  rewarded,  and  punishment  without  par 
tiality  or  indulgence  inflicted  on  those  who,  forgetful 
of  their  duty  and  their  obligations  to  the  best  and 
most  benevolent  of  monarchs,  shall  oppose  those  laws, 
decidedly  abetting  sinister  plots,  with  infraction  of 
them  and  disregard  of  the  decrees  from  them  issuing. 
And  I  therefore,  by  royal  order,  inform  Y.  E.  of  the 
same  for  Y.  E.'s  intelligence,  satisfaction,  and  exact 
observance  thereof.  GOD  preserve  your  excellency's 
life.  Madrid,  28  May,  1825.  AIMERICH. 

By  this  it  will  be  seen  that  Cuba  has  been,  since 
1825,  and  now  is,  under  "  martial  law,"  the  captain- 
general  being  invested  "  with  the  whole  extent  of 
power  granted  to  the  governors  of  besieged  towns." 

The  sad  effects  of  this  royal  order,  which  the  king 
only  meant  to  be  observed  temporarily,  and  under  a 
strict  responsibility,  "  le  mas  estrecta  responsibilidad," 
were  not  immediately  felt.  "  Truth  and  justice  com 
pel  me  to  assert,"  says  one  of  the  most  enlightened 
Cubans,  on  being  rejected  from  the  Cortes,  in  common 
with  all  the  deputies  from  the  province,  "  that  not 
withstanding  the  terrible  authority  conferred  on  the 
captain-general  by  this  royal  order,  Vives,  who  then 
held  that  office,  far  from  putting  it  in  execution  during 
his  long  government,  discovered  that  its  application 
would  be  equally  disadvantageous  to  Cuba  and  Spain. 
Under  a  mild  and  conciliatory  policy  this  island  be 
came  the  refuge  of  many  unhappy  prescripts,  who 
were  expelled  from  the  Peninsular  territory  by  the  arm 
of  tyranny." 

The  judicious  administration  of  the  Count  Villa- 
neuva,  as  intendant,  which  had  undoubtedly  an  influ 
ence  materially  advantageous  to  the  country,  was  like 
wise  calculated  to  make  every  one  forget  the  depressed 
political  condition  to  which  the  new  law  had  reduced 
the  inhabitants  of  Cuba.  Under  its  fearful  and  com- 


THE    CUBANS. 


prehensive  provisos,  since  become  the  scourge  of  the 
land,  public  bodies  were  respected.  Some  of  them 
constantly  consulted  together  on  grave  subjects,  such 
as  the  rural  and  domestic  police  for  the  management 
of  slaves,  the  imposition  of  taxes  and  judiciary  reform, 
and  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  printing  their  reports, 
without  applying  for  the  consent  of  the  executive 
officers  ;  and  the  press  was  moreover  very  far  from 
being  restricted  as  it  now  is. 

As  a  proof  that  the  political  servitude  created  by 
the  royal  order  of  1825  was  not  intended  to  be  perma 
nent,  an  extract  is  made  from  an  article  on  the  dan 
gers  of  the  slave  trade,  published  in  a  periodical  of 
Havana,  in  1832,  under  the  despotic  government  of 
Ferdinand,  and  seven  years  after  issuing  the  royal 
order  above  referred  to.  Immediately  following  a  very 
precise  detail  of  facts,  of  the  numbers  of  imported 
slaves,  and  of  the  relative  position  of  the  races,  we 
read  : 

"  Thus  far  we  have  only  considered  the  power  which 
has  its  origin  in  the  numbers  of  the  colored  population 
that  surrounds  us.  What  a  picture  we  might  draw, 
if  we  were  to  portray  this  immense  body  acting  under 
the  influence  of  political  and  moral  causes,  and  pre 
senting  a  spectacle  unknown  in  history  !  We  surely 
shall  not  do  it.  But  we  should  be  guilty  of  moral 
treason  to  our  country,  if  we  were  to  forget  the  efforts 
now  making  to  effect  a  change  in  the  condition  of  the 
African  race.  Philanthropic  laws,  enacted  by  some 
of  the  European  nations,  associations  of  distinguished 
Englishmen,  periodicals  solely  devoted  to  this  subject, 
eloquent  parliamentary  debates  whose  echoes  are  con 
stantly  repeated  on  this  side  the  Atlantic,  bold  exhort 
ations  from  the  pulpits  of  religious  sects,  political  prin 
ciples  which  with  lightning  rapidity  are  spreading  in 
both  hemispheres,  and  very  recent  commotions  in  seve 
ral  parts  of  the  West  Indies,  every  thing  is  calculated 
to  awaken  us  from  our  profound  slumber  and  remind 
3* 


58 


CUBA    AND 


us  that  we  must  save  our  country.  And  should  this 
our  beloved  mother  ask  us  what  measures  we  have 
adopted  to  extricate  her  from  her  danger,  what  would 
those  who  boast  themselves  her  dutiful  sons,  answer  1 
The  horrid  traffic  in  human  blood  is  carried  on  in  defi 
ance  of  the  laws,  and  men  who  assume  the  name  of 
patriots,  being  no  other  than  parricides,  cover  the  land 
with  shackled  victims.  And  as  if  this  were  not  suffi 
ciently  fearful,  with  criminal  apathy,  Africans  freed 
and  brought  to  this  country  by  English  policy,  are  per 
mitted  to  reside  in  our  midst.  How  different  the  con 
duct  of  our  neighbors  the  Americans  !  Notwithstand 
ing  the  rapid  increase  of  their^country  ;  notwithstand 
ing  the  white  has  constantly  been  four  fifths  more 
numerous  than  the  colored  population,  and  have  ten 
and  a  half  millions  to  offset  two  millions ;  notwith 
standing  the  importation  of  the  latter  is  prohibited 
from  one  end  of  the  republic  to  the  other,  while  Eu 
ropean  immigration  is  immense ;  notwithstanding  the 
countries  lying  upon  their  boundaries  have  no  slaves 
to  inspire  dread,  they  organize  associations,  raise 
funds,  purchase  lands  in  Africa,  establish  colonies, 
favor  the  emigration  of  the  colored  population  to  them, 
increasing  their  exertions  as  the  exigency  may  require, 
not  faltering  in  their  course,  and  leaving  no  expedient 
untried  which  shall  prove  them  friends  of  humanity 
and  their  country.  Not  satisfied  with  these  general 
measures,  some  states  have  adopted  very  thorough  and 
efficient  measures.  In  December,  1831,  Louisiana 
passed  a  law  prohibiting  importation  of  slaves  even 
from  other  states  of  the  Union. 

"  Behold  the  movement  of  a  great  people,  who  would 
secure  their  safety!  Behold  the  model  you  should 
imitate  !  But  we  are  told  '  Your  efforts  are  vain.  You 
cannot  justly  reproach  us.  Our  plantations  need 
hands,  and  if  we  cannot  obtain  negroes,  what  shall  we 
do  V  We  are  far  from  wishing  to  offend  a  class  equally 
deserving  respect  and  esteem,  including  many  we  are 


THE    CUBANS.  59 

happy  to  call  friends.  We  ai'e  habitually  indulgent, 
and  in  no  instance  more  so  than  in  that  before  us. 
The  notions  and  examples  to  which  they  have  been 
accustomed  justify  in  a  great  measure  the  part  they 
act,  and  an  immediate  benefit  and  remote  danger  au 
thorize  in  others  a  course  of  conduct  which  we  wish 
may  never  be  generally  and  permanently  adopted. 
We  would  not  rudely  censure  the  motives  of  the  plant 
ers.  Our  mission  requires  us  only  to  remark,  that  it 
is  necessary  to  adopt  some  other  plan,  since  the  change 
in  politics  is  inconsistent  with  and  hostile  to  the  much 
longer  continuance  of  the  illicit  traffic  in  slaves.  We 
all  know  that  England  has,  both  with  selfish  and  hu 
mane  motives,  made  and  is  still  making  great  efforts 
against  it  by  means  of  treaties.  She  is  no  longer  the 
only  power  thus  engaged,  since  France  is  also  taking 
her  share  in  the  enterprise.  The  United  States  will 
soon  appear  in  the  field  to  vindicate  down-trodden  hu 
manity.  They  will  adopt  strong  measures,  and  perse- 
veringly  pursue  the  pirate  negro-dealer.  Will  he  then 
escape  the  vigilance  of  enemies  so  active  and  powerful  ? 
And  even  should  some  be  able  to  do  so,  how  enor 
mously  expensive  must  their  piracy  be  !  It  is  demon 
strable  that  the  number  of  imported  negroes  being 
then  small,  and  their  introduction  subject  to  uncom 
mon  risks,  their  cost  would  be  so  enhanced  as  to  de 
stroy  the  motive  for  preferring  slave  labor.  A  proper 
regard  to  our  true  interests  will  lead  us  to  consider 
henceforth  other  means  of  supplying  our  wants,  since 
our  present  mode  will  ultimately  paralyze  our  resources 
and  be  attended  with  baneful  consequences.  The 
equal  distribution  of  the  two  sexes  in  the  country,  and 
an  improved  treatment  of  them,  would  alone  be  suffi 
cient,  not  merely  to  prevent  a  diminution  of  their  num 
ber,  but  greatly  to  increase  it.  But  the  existing  dis 
proportion  of  the  sexes  forbids  our  indulging  in  so 
pleasing  a  hope.  We  shall,  however,  do  much  to  effect 
our  purposes  by  discontinuing  certain  practices,  and 


60  CUBA    AND 

adopting  a  system  more  consonant  to  the  good  princi 
ples  that  should  be  our  guide. 

"  Would  it  not  be  advisable  to  try  some  experi 
ments  that  we  may  be  able  to  compare  the  results  of 
cultivating  cane  by  slaves,  with  such  other  method  as 
we  may  find  it  expedient  to  adopt  1 

"  If  the  planters  could  realize  the  importance  of 
these  propositions  to  their  welfare,  we  should  see  them 
striving  to  promote  the  introduction  of  white  and  the 
exclusion  of  colored  hands.  By  forming  associations, 
raising  funds,  and  in  various  ways  exerting  themselves 
vigorously  in  a  cause  so  eminently  patriotic,  they 
would  at.  once  overcome  the  obstacles  to  the  introduc 
tion  of  white  foreigners,  and  induce  their  immigration 
by  the  guarantees  of  good  laws  and  the  assured  tran 
quillity  of  the  country. 

"  We  may  be  told  that  these  are  imaginary  plans, 
and  never  to  be  realized.  We  answer  that  they  are 
essays,  not  difficult  or  expensive,  if  undertaken,  as 
we  suggest,  by  a  whole  community.  If  we  are  not 
"disposed  to  make  the  voluntary  trial  now,  the  day  is 
at  hand  when  we  shall  be  obliged  to  attempt  it,  or 
abandon  the  cultivation  of  sugar.  The  prudent  mari 
ner  on  a  boisterous  ocean  prepares  betimes  for  the 
tempest,  and  defies  it.  He  who  recklessly  abandons 
himself-  to  the  fury  of  the  elements  is  likely  to  perish 
in  the  rage  of  the  storm. 

"  '  How  imprudent,'  some  may  exclaim, f  how  impru 
dent,'  to  propose  a  subject  which  should  be  forever 
buried  in  '  lasting  oblivion  !'  Behold  the  general  accu 
sation  raised  against  him  who  dares  boldly  avow  new 
opinions  respecting  these  matters.  Unfortunately  there 
is  among  us  an  opinion*  which  insists  that  £  silence'  is 
the  true  policy.  All  feel  the  evils  which  surround  us, 
are  acquainted  with  the  dangers,  and  wish  to  avoid 
them.  Let  a  remedy  be  suggested  and  a  thousand 
confused  voices  be  simultaneously  raised ;  and  a  sig 
nificant  and  imploring  '  Hush  !' — '  hush  !'  is  heard  on 


THE    CUBANS.  61 

every  side.  Such  infatuation  resembles  his  who  con 
ceals  the  disease  which  is  hurrying  him  to  speedy 
death,  rather  than  hear  its  unpleasant  history  and 
mode  of  cure,  from  his  only  hope,  the  physician's  sav 
ing  science.  Which  betrays  censurable  apathy,  he 
who  obstinately  rushes  headlong  to  the  brink  of  a 
mighty  precipice,  or  he  who  gives  the  timely  warning  to 
beware  1  Who  would  not  thus  save  a  whole  community 
perhaps  from  frightful  destruction  ?  If  we  knew  most 
positively  that  the  disease  were  beyond  all  hopes  of 
cure,  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  would  not  stay  the 
march  of  death,  while  it  might  serve  but  as  a  terrify 
ing  annunciation  of  his  approach.  If,  however,  the 
sick  man  is  endowed  with  a  strong  constitution,  that 
with  timely  prescription  promises  a  probable  return 
of  health,  it  would  be  unpardonable  to  act  the  part  of 
a  passive  spectator.  We  heed  not  that  the  selfish  con 
demn,  that  the  self-admiring  wise  censure,  or  the  parri 
cidal  accuse  us.  Reflections  of  a  higher  nature  guide 
us,  and  in  the  spirit  of  our  responsible  calling  as  a 
public  writer,  we  will  never  cease  to  cry  aloud,  '  Let 
us  save  our  country — let  us  save  our  country !' ' 

Nothing  would  more  forcibly  illustrate  the  rapid 
encroachment  of  despotism  in  the  island  than  the 
publication,  now,  of  a  document  like  the  above,  or 
any  thing  discreditable,  or  disparaging  to  the- slave- 
dealers.  Whoever  should  dare  make  the  experiment, 
would  most  certainly  do  it  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 
Further  comment  on  the  progress  of  tyranny  is  unne 
cessary. 

Not  to  lose  sight  of  the  order  of  events,  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  immediately  after  the  overthrow  of 
the  constitution,  and  precisely  at  the  time  the  persecu 
tion  for  revolutionary  opinions  commenced  under  the 
order  of  1825,  the  country  was  in  its  most  flourishing 
and  healthy  period.  The  fruits  of  the  several  acts  for 
promoting  the  country's  welfare  and  the  development 
of  its  resources,  which  owed  their  origin  to  corpora- 


62  CUBA    AND 

tions,  before  they  had  lost  their  vitality,  had  been  gath 
ered.  Moreover,  the  judicious  and  liberal  policy  above 
described  was  continued  by  the  intendant,  who  could 
then  act  with  great  independence.  As  chief  of  the 
financial  department,  the  Count  de  Villanueva  regu 
lated  the  mode  of  keeping  accounts,  corrected  abuses, 
introduced  greater  simplicity  in  the  collection  of  taxes, 
and  established  several  facilities  beneficial  to  the 
merchants.  By  means  of  his  great  influence  at  Ma 
drid,  he  was  enabled  to  supersede  the  captain-gen 
eral  in  the  presidency  of  the  consulado,  and  directing 
the  labors  of  that  body,  he  made  them  subserve  the 
development  and  improvement  of  the  country.  Avail 
ing  himself  of  the  general  wealth,  and  of  the  increas 
ing  agriculture  of  the  island,  he  daringly  taxed  its  pro 
ducts  ;  and  it  is  generally  believed  that  it  was  during 
his  administration,  taxes  of  various  kinds  were  im 
posed  for  the  first  time  without  the  consent  of  those  to 
be  affected  by  them.  He  represented  "  de  facto"  the 
people  of  Cuba ;  was  the  chief  fiscal  agent ;  the  friend 
and  adviser  of  the  captain-general ;  the  favorite  of 
Ferdinand's  government.  A  skillful  and  mighty  au 
thority  like  his  could,  at  such  a  period,  draw  abundant 
resources  from  the  country  for  the  metropolis,  and  pro 
mote  at  the  same  time  the  interests  of  the  former  by 
reforming  abuses.  To  both  these  objects  were  his  ex 
ertions  successfully  directed.  To  his  discriminating 
judgment  it  was  very  evident  that  a  vast  territory, 
capable  of  great  agricultural  production,  could  not 
maintain  its  position,  much  less  make  progress,  should 
its  commerce  be  again  limited  to  the  mother-country. 
He  was  aware  that  the  probable  results  of  such  limit 
ation  would  be  the  total  annihilation  of  the  surplus 
revenue,  of  which  they  were  so  desirous  at  court ;  the 
immediate  paralysis  of  agriculture,  the  fountain  of  the 
island's  wealth ;  and  a  very  extensive  contraband 
trade. 

Vilknueva  had  the  waters  of  the  Husille  .brought 


THE    CUBANS.  03 

into  the  city  by  a  well-devised  though  costly  plan ;  the 
roads  near  Havana  macadamized,  and  a  mud-machine 
erected  to  clear  the  anchorage  and  preserve  the 
wharves.  He  established  the  more  modern  and  ra 
tional  system  of  selling  at  auction  to  the  lowest  bidder 
the  performance  of  various  services,  particularly  for 
the  government  or  the  public.  He  enlarged  the  Span 
ish  navy  from  the  navy-yard  of  Havana ;  the  regular 
intercourse  between  the  two  countries  by  mail  packets 
was  his  suggestion,  and  the  Guines  railroad  is  a  crown 
ing,  ever-memorable,  and  enduring  monument  of  his 
enterprise  and  genius.  Amidst  these  improvements, 
beneficial  to  Spain  and  the  island,  the  count  was  ena 
bled  to  make  frequent  and  heavy  remittances  to  the 
general  treasury  in  Spain,  which  was  so  relieved  by 
them  that  the  demands  were  gradually  augmented 
without  any  regard  to  the  means  of  meeting  them,  and 
the  inevitable  consequence  was,  the  sacrifice  of  the 
necessities  of  the  island  to  the  urgency  of  their  pay 
ment.  Thus  it  happened  that  the  Bank  of  St.  Ferdi 
nand,  the  establishment  of  which  was  one  of  the  acts 
which  do  honor  to  Villanueva,  had  no  opportunity  of 
doing  any  service  to  the  public,  as  its  capital  was  spe 
cially  sent  for  from  Madrid.  In  brief,  Count  Villa- 
nueva's  administration  can  in  no  way  be  better  appre 
ciated  than  by  bearing  in  mind  that  whatever  liberal 
and  enlightened  views  he  carried  into  practical  effect, 
he  had  nothing  similar  to  guide  him  or  excite  his  emu 
lation,  in  all  the  Spanish  territory.  His  power  in 
Cuba  was  great,  his  influence  in  Madrid  had  no  equal, 
and  his  credit  abroad  was  such  that  his  promise  and 
acceptance  was  a  source  of  revenue  at  court.  The 
authority  of  the  captain-general  himself  being  eclipsed 
by  his,  it  is  certainly  no  matter  of  surprise  that  public 
bodies  and  individuals  should  have  sunk  into  insignifi 
cance. 

It  was  in  such  a  state  of  political  weakness  and  gen 
eral  prosperity,  that  the  estatuto  real,  which  was  the 


64  CUBA    AND 

first  liberal  act  of  Christina's  regency,  found  Cuba. 
Under  it  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  observed,  as 
they  always  had  done,  the  laws  promulgated  in  the 
mother-country.  A  number  of  members  were  added 
to  the  municipalities,  equal  to  the  number  of  heredit 
ary  members,  and  the  former  were  by  express  proviso 
to  be  individuals  who  were  highest  on  the  tax  list. 
Thus  formed,  these  corporations  elected  the  deputies 
who  represented  the  interests  of  the  island  at  the 
Spanish  congress.  This  slight  political  change,  which 
enabled  the  corporations  of  Havana,  Santiago  de  Cuba, 
and  Puerto  Principe,  to  name  three  deputies  in  the 
"  estamentos"  without  other  free  institutions,  was  cer 
tainly  not  calculated  to  alarm  the  royal  authorit}T,  how 
ever  jealous  it  might  be  supposed.  Three  votes,  more 
or  less,  could  not  of  course  cause  any  uneasiness ;  but 
it  is  ever  the  consequence  of  free  institutions,  in  just 
proportion  to  their  worth,  to  diminish  the  importance 
of  individuals.  Here,  then,  was  one  of  the  causes  of 
that  strenuous  opposition  so  successfully  exerted  to 
deprive  the  island  of  deputies  to  Madrid.  Such  a  re 
fusal,  where  there  is  an  immense  amount  of  productive 
capital  to  be  benefited  or  injured,  or  destroyed  by  the 
enactments  of  government,  and  where  the  colony  is  not 
even  allowed  delegates  to  represent  its  interests  at 
court,  has  no  parallel  in  any  civilized  county  professing 
to  approve  of  liberal  institutions.  The  island  was  at 
that  time  governed  by  General  Tacon,  whose  short 
sighted,  narrowT  views,  and  jealous  and  weak  mind,  were 
joined  to  an  uncommon  stubbornness  of  character. 
Never  satiated  with  power,  it  was  through  his  influ 
ence  that  the  wealthy  portion  of  the  community  was 
divested  of  the  privileges  conferred  on  them  by  the 
estatuto.  He  even  deprived  the  old  municipalities  of 
Havana  of  the  faculty  of  naming  the  under-cornmissa- 
ries  of  police.  In  his  own  immodest  report  of  his 
reign,  as  it  was  justly  termed,  he  enumerated  the  very 
extensive  and  costly  buildings  and  public  works  he  had 


THE    CUBANS.  65 

constructed,  and  from  the  singular  manner  in  which 
he  accounts  for  procuring  the  ordinary  means,  we  must 
suppose  he  had  the  power  of  working  miracles.  To 
sustain  his  absolute  government  by  trampling  on  every 
institution,  was  the  necessary  consequence  of  his  first 
violent  and  unjustifiable  act.  It  was  consequential 
upon  his  own  and  his  followers'  efforts.  For  any  pow 
er,  any  institution,  not  dependent  on  the  palace  of  the 
captain-general,  might  be  the  means  of  denouncing 
abuses,  of  exposing  the  real  deformity  of  his  and  their 
pretended  patriotism ;  and  the  numberless  parasites 
whose  interest  ever  was  to  blind  the  royal  eyes,  magni 
fied  the  virtues  of  their  hero,  while  they  were  rapidly 
accumulating  fortunes  at  his  side.  In  order  to  obtain 
credit  in  the  management  of  the  police,  he  displayed  a 
despotic  and  even  brutal  activity  in  the  mode  of  exact 
ing  from  the  under  officers,  distributed  in  the  several 
wards  of  the  city,  under  personal  responsibility,  the 
apprehension  and  summary  prosecution  of  criminals. 
They  soon  found  that  there  would  be  no  complaint, 
provided  they  acted  vigorously  and  brought  up  prison 
ers.  So  far  from  presuming  their  innocence,  or  re 
quiring  proof  of  their  crimes,  those  who  were  once 
arrested  were  put  to  the  negative  and  difficult  task  of 
proving  their  innocence.  The  more  unwarrantable  the 
acts  of  his  subalterns  the  more  acceptable  to  him,  since 
they,  in  his  opinion,  exhibited  the  energy  of  his  author 
ity.  They  trembled  in  his  presence,  and  left  it  to 
persecute,  to  invent  accusations,  to  imprison,  and 
spread  terror  and  desolation  among  the  families  of  the 
land!  It  is  but  just  to  add,  that  the  banditti  and 
thieves  and  professed  gamblers  were  terrified  by  his 
sweeping  scythe,  and  became  much  more  modest  than 
they  had  been  during  the  brief  government  of  the  weak 
and  infirm  General  Ricafort,  the  predecessor  of  Tacon. 
The  timid  and  short-sighted  merchant  who  perceived 
this  reform,  did  not  comprehend  or  appreciate  the  ille 
gality  of  the  system,  nor  its  pernicious  effects  on  the 


68  CUBA    AND 

future  destinies  of  the  country,  and  was  the  first  to 
justify  the  man  who  dared  interpose  himself  between 
the  Spanish  monarchs  and  their  subjects,  to  silence 
every  complaint  of  the  latter,  and  to  say  to  the  former, 
"  You  shall  never  hear  the  petitions  of  your  American 
vassals  contrary  to  my  pleasure."  The  political  ser 
vitude  at  that  moment  implanted  in  the  country  was 
new,  and  of  course  excited  discontent,  which  was  not 
unfrequently  vented  in  the  random  conversation  of 
young  men. 

The  consequence  of  all  this  was,  a  regular  system 
of  espionage.  The  prisoners  were  distributed  in  the 
castles,  because  the  jails  were  insufficient  to  contain 
them.  In  the  dungeons  were  lodged  nearly  six  hun 
dred  persons,  the  cause  of  whose  detention  nobody 
knew  ;  a  fact  authentically  proved  by  a  casual  circum 
stance.  In  the  streets,  in  the  highways  and  fortresses, 
under  a  scorching  sun,  and  during  the  unhealthy  sea 
son,  the  poor  Carlist  prisoners,  having  surrendered 
themselves,  trusting  to  the  faith  of  liberals,  were  suf 
fered  to  sicken  and  sink  miserably  into  a  premature 
grave.  Let  it  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  his  po 
litical  persecution  was  confined  to  the  enemies  of  the 
liberal  institutions  then  existing  in  Madrid.  The  con 
trary  may  be  adduced  from  the  inconsiderate  protec 
tion  extended  by  him  to  the  famous  friar  Cirilo  Al- 
meda,  of  whose  machinations  he  appeared  to  approve, 
and  from  the  fact  that  events  favorable  to  the  queen 
were  at  a  certain  period  not  permitted  to  appear  in  the 
distorted  press  of  Havana.  His  creed  was  soon  ascer 
tained.  He  considered  those  whom  he  thought  likely 
to  tear  the  veil  from  his  tyranny,  the  veritable  trai 
tors,  the  enemies  of  the  throne,  and  the  advocates  of 
independence  in  Cuba.  He  destroyed  all  freedom  of 
discussion  in  the  municipal  body,  usurped  its  powers, 
and  frightened  away  such  members  as  he  thought  would 
not  bend  sufficiently  to  his  will.  He  constructed  an 
enormously  high,  massive,  level  road  through  the 


THE    CUBANS.  67 

widest  avenue  of  the  city,  which  has  since  been  re 
moved,  at  the  expense  of  the  same  suffering  commu 
nity  who  had  to  pay  for  its  erection,  and  had  to  suffer 
its  unhealthy  effects  while  it  remained.  General  Ta- 
con  moreover  established  a  privileged  market  for  sell 
ing  meat  and  fish,  to  the  detriment  of  the  public  and 
the  public  revenue,  and  for  the  profit  of  himself  and 
his  nearest  friends.  Those  who  doubt  this  statement, 
may  find  a  clue  to  the  facts  in  the  "  Expression  de 
Agravios,  ante  el  Tribunal  Supremo  de  Justicia,  por 
el  Ayuntamiento  de  la  Habana  sobre  cargos  en  resi- 
dencia  al  General  Tacon,"  printed  in  New  York  by 
Desueur  and  Company,  in  1839.  Among  other  things 
it  will  the.re  be  seen  how  a  man  living  at  the  table  and 
board  of  Tacon,  was  subsequently  found  to  be  inter 
ested  in  the  contract  for  the  meat  and  fish  market, 
without  its  being  absolutely  binding  on  him  to  perform 
the  condition  of  paying  in  his  amount  of  stock  in  order 
to  be  entitled  to  his  share  of  the  profits,  which  he  did 
nevertheless  receive. 

It  will  likewise  be  found  that  the  party  to  that  con 
tract  was  illegally  preferred  to  the  more  regular  bid 
ders.  It  may  further  be  ascertained  from  that  work 
that  when  the  contractors  obtained  the  grant  and  com 
menced  exacting  unauthorized  fees,  to  the  great  injury 
of  the  public,  a  suit  was  instituted  to  investigate  and 
reform  the  abuse  at  the  tribunal  of  one  of  the  alcaldes, 
and  that  the  record  was  claimed  and  taken  possession 
of  by  Tacon,  who  still  lies  under  the  charge  of  having 
caused  it  to  disappear,  as  it  is  stated  in  his  successor 
General  Espeleta's  official  answer,  that  it  is  not  to  be 
found  in  the  archives  of  the  captain-generalship. 

Notwithstanding  General  Tacon's  efforts  at  the  first 
election  under  the  estatuto,  the  voice  of  his  Excellency 
Don  Juan  Moritalvo  y  Castillo  was  raised  in  Madrid 
at  the  Cortes,  and  the  misconduct  of  the  former  par 
tially  exposed.  As  it  continued,  Messrs.  Annas  and 
Saco  were  named  for  the  second  congress  during  his 


68  CUBA    AND 

government,  both  very  enlightened  and  able  men,  well 
acquainted  with  the  circumstances,  and  friendly  to  the 
welfare  of  the  island,  and  as  much  opposed  to  the 
ultra-liberal  or  revolutionary  ideas,  as  desirous  of  re 
moving  from  the  Spanish  peninsular  government  the 
shame  and  discredit  of  such  lawless  proceedings  on  the 
part  of  the  chief  metropolitan  authority.  To  discover 
imagined  conspiracies,  to  commence  suits  blindly  ap 
proved  by  his  assessor,  to  expatriate,  to  vex,  to  im 
prison  the  citizens,  these  were  Tacon's  noble  exploits. 
His  artful  reports  found  credit  at  court.  He  was 
therefore  continued  in  his  government,  and  the  Spanish 
Cortes  in  1836,  by  a  majority  exceeding  thirteen  votes, 
shut  their  doors,  which  had  always  been  open  to  Amer 
ican  representatives,  against  the  deputies  of  the  island, 
then  elected  and  at  Madrid.  They  were  obliged  to 
return  without  being  allowed  the  privilege  of  uttering 
their  grievances.  This  was  the  single  but  serious  act 
of  usurpation  which  robbed  the  descendants  of  the  isl 
and's  conquerors  of  all  interference  in  its  administra 
tion  and  tributary  system.  Some  time  after  the  oath 
to  the  constitution  had  been  taken  at  Madrid  in  1837, 
the  Spanish  General  Lorenzo,  commanding  in  St.  Jago, 
encouraged  by  the  encomiums  and  rewards  conferred  in 
former  times  and  in  similar  instances,  on  such  author 
ities  as  first  followed  the  impulse  given  at  the  court  of 
a  political  change,  thought  it  his  duty  to  conform  to 
the  plan  most  approved  by  all  parties,  royalist  or  libe 
ral,  viz.  :  to  repeat  the  cry  raised  at  the  seat  of  gov 
ernment. 

He  therefore  proclaimed  the  constitution.  The 
wily  old  general  who  had  so  successfully  deprived  the 
country  of  all  representative  or  delegate  system,  would 
not  of  course  very  quietly  allow  his  fabric  to  bo 
leveled  to  the  ground.  He  made  an  ostentatious  dis 
play  of  his  authority,  and  though  well  satisfied  of  the 
pacific  views  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  island,  insisted 
upon  fitting  out  an  expensive  expedition,  which  cost 


THE    CUBANS.  69 

the  inhabitants  more  than  $500,000,  and  would  have 
it  proceed,  notwithstanding  that  the  commissioners 
sent  by  Lorenzo  made  a  formal  promise  that  the  east 
ern  part  of  the  island  should  preserve  their  system 
until  the  queen  decided,  or  would  obey  at  once  Tacon's 
order  to  annul  the  constitution,  provided  an  amnesty 
were  granted  for  the  single  act  of  proclaiming  the 
same,  their  sole  offence.  General  Tacon  again  made 
use  of  his  favorite  weapon  against  the  islanders, 
applying  it  to  General  Lorenzo  and  the  intendant  of 
Havana,  by  perfidious  suggestions  calculated  to  impair 
their  well-proven  loyalty  to  their  sovereign.  Such  im 
probable  stories,  the  ill-disguised  animosity  of  his  pas 
sionate  language,  the  cognizance  by  some  impartial 
Peninsular  tribunals  of  some  of  his  grossly-imagined 
plans  of  conspiracy,  all  had  an  influence  to  force  the 
Spanish  court  to  acknowledge,  without,  for  reasons  of 
policy,  publicly  avowing  it,  the  irregular  and  disorderly 
course  of  T  aeon's  administration,  and  he  was  removed 
from  office.  The  removal  of  General  Tacon  is  said  to 
have  been  effected  by  a  compromise  between  the  minis 
try  and  Olivar,  acting  as  agent  for  Villanueva,  in 
which  the  rights  of  the  Cubans  were  sacrificed  to 
the  latter's  personal  ambition.  It  was  then  agreed 
that  no  political  assembly,  or  any  rights  whatever, 
should  be  allowed  the  Cubans,  but  that  Tacon  should 
be  removed.  This  discreditable  compromise  was  the 
undoubted  origin  of  the  immediate  discontent  and  sub 
sequent  rapid  adoption  of  the  principle  of  annexation 
through  the  island.  Nothing  was  more  efficient  in 
drawing  the  mask  from  his  face  than  the  unskillfulness 
of  Joaquin  Valdez,  his  standing  conspiracy-witness  and 
'confidential  agent,  who  in  framing  one  of  Ms  plans  got 
into  a  strange  dilemma  by  compromising  the  intend 
ant  of  Cadiz,  and  other  respectable  old  Spaniards,  sup 
posed  to  be  concerned  in  the  plot. 

It  should  be  mentioned,  to  the  honor  of  the  Spanish 
name,  that  at  the  subsequent  sittings  of  the  Cortes,  and 


70  CUBA    AND 

before  the  removal  of  Tacon,  as  if  the  injuries  which  had 
been  inflicted  on  Cuba  called  for  immediate  redress,  it 
was  generally  admitted  as  a  matter  of  course,  what  has 
since  been  artfully  withdrawn  from  the  sight  of  the  con 
gress,  that  the  political  condition  of  that  distant  colony 
should  be  attended  to  and  ameliorated  without  delay.  A 
generous  and  high-minded  Spaniard,  Don  Antonio  Bena- 
vide,  equally  loyal  to  his  country  and  desirous  of  the 
welfare  of  its  inhabitants,  clearly  and  ably  insisted 
upon  the  adoption  of  any  system  in  lieu  of  the  omnipo 
tence  of  the  captain-general.  But  the  zeal  and  high 
sense  of  justice  entertained  by  the  congress  could  give 
no  relief,  where  the  agents  of  the  local  government 
were  active,  and  the  oppressed  country  had  no  dele 
gates  to  maintain  her  rights.  The  only  result  was  a 
royal  order  authorizing  Tacon  to  call  a  junta,  which 
he  took  care  should  be  formed  to  his  liking  generally, 
composed  of  authorities  named  by  government,  in  its 
pay,  with  three  or  four  private  individuals  among  the 
general's  pliant  tools.  This  junta  was  to  propose 
special  laws  for  the  government  of  the  island.  The 
consequence  was  exactly  what  might  have  been  ex 
pected.  The  chief  soon  perceived  that,  however  yield 
ing  the  members  might  be,  they  must  draw  up  some 
rules  ostensibly  to  restrain  his  untamed  will,  or  excite 
the  ridicule  of  even  the  Spanish  court.  After  calling 
together  and  dispersing  them  instantly,  under  a  show 
of  separating  them  into  committees,  he  rendered  the 
whole  attempt  inefficient,  and  feigning  fear  of  danger 
from  the  plots  of  the  white  population,  caused  every 
feeling  of  justice  to  Cuba  to  be  forgotten  in  Spain. 
The  only  proposition  which  seems  to  have  transpired 
from  the  sitting  of  that  strange,  transitory,  and  expen 
sive  junta,  was  to  make  the  island  a  vice-royalty  and 
Tacon  vice-king.  Ludicrous  as  il:  may  appear,  it  is 
no  less  true. 

Notwithstanding  it  was  under  free  institutions  that 
Spain  granted  the  establishment  of  the  mixed  Anglo- 


THE    CUBANS.  71 

Spanish  tribunal  at  Havana,  for  the  cognizance  of 
prizes  taken  from  the  African  trade,  it  was  when  the 
public  bodies  of  the  island  were  without  sufficient 
energy  to  raise  their  spontaneous  protest  on  political 
questions,  that  the  Castilian  name  was  humbled  by  the 
floating  fortress  which  the  English  anchored  in  the 
port  of  Havana,  as  a  rallying  signal  for  the  blacks, 
openly  and  malignantly  avowed,  and  sufficiently  evi 
dent  from  the  fact  that  it  was  manned  by  black  men 
in  British  uniforms !  These  soldiers,  distributed  in 
the  heart  of  the  city,  the  greater  number  liberated 
from  slave-ships  by  the  tribunal,  who  both  during  and 
subsequently  to  their  apprenticeship  were  left  in  the 
country  in  direct  communication  with  their  bond- 
brethren,  were  the  first  instruments  of  spreading  dis 
content  among  the  slave  population.  Very  far  from 
independent,  and  from  representing  the  interest  of  the 
wealthy  planters,  must  have  been  the  public  bodies  of 
the  island,  who  thus  patiently  saw  the  germs  of  vio 
lent  insurrection  sown  broad-cast  over  the  land,  with 
out  most  earnestly  assailing  the  Spanish  ministry  with 
their  complaints.  It  was  not  however  until  about  the 
year  1835,  that  the  disproportion  of  the  races  became 
alarming.  In  1837,  General  Tacon  received  an  offi 
cial  communication  from  Madrid,  inclosing  a  copy  of 
a  note  from  the  Spanish  minister  at  Washington,  con 
taining  a  vivid  picture  of  the  dangers  to  Cuba  from 
the  abolitionary  efforts  making  in  the  United  States 
and  generally  all  over  the  world.  He  who  had  heed 
lessly  given  new  life  and  development  to  the  policy 
which  Vives  had  only  partially  unfolded,  and  which 
consisted  in  separating  the  old  Spaniards  from  the 
natives,  was  now  made  to  feel  that  the  co-operation  of 
the  country's  bourgeoisie,  in  all  their  united  effort, 
was  requisite  to  oppose  the  encroachments  of  the  abo 
litionists. 

The  exposition  of  the  minister  at  Washington,  though 
abounding  with  contradictory  opinions,  was,  in  the  main. 


72  CUBA    AKD 

exact.  It  predicted  immediate  danger.  No  public 
bodies  existing  which  could  be  considered  as  emanating 
even  indirectly  from  the  people,  rich  or  poor,  he  having 
discredited  and  crushed  all  such  institutions,  what  could 
he  do  ?  He  contrived  to  call  a  general  meeting  of  the 
planters  in  the  city  of  Matanzas,  whose  very  judicious 
report  provided  for  domestic  and  rural  government,  ma 
terial  defence,  and  funds  to  carry  their  plans  into  effect. 
The  colonization  of  the  island  by  white  inhabitants, 
which  had  been  unlawfully  terminated,  was  demanded 
by  this  meeting  of  planters,  who  also  insisted  upon  the 
establishment  of  a  rural  militia.  In  consequence  of 
these  requisitions,  their  resolutions  on  the  first  were 
not  carried  into  execution.  The  immigration  of  whites 
has  been  materially  obstructed  by  an  influential  party, 
who  consider  it  hostile  to  the  introduction  of  laborers 
more  consonant  to  their  taste  and  interest.  General 
Valdez  was  latterly  named  captain-general,  an  honest 
and  generous  soldier,  whose  memory  is  still  dear  to  the 
liberal  party  in  Spain,  wearing  many  honorable  marks 
of  worth,  gray  in  the  service  of  his  country,  but 
his  capacity  undoubtedly  impaired  by  age,  joined  to  a 
general  ignorance  of  the  colonies  and  of  political  affairs, 
common  to  all  the  military  as  a  class.  A  person  ob 
serving  the  progress  of  English  pretensions  respecting 
Cuba,  would  certainly  conclude  that  Lord  Palmerstori 
had  himself  chosen  such  a  man,  who,  though  beyond  the 
reach  of  bribery,  and  incapable  of  willful  wrong  to  his 
country,  was,  from  his  weakness,  a  suitable  and  man 
ageable  instrument.  Let  it,  however,  be  said  in  his 
praise,  that  he  had  occasion  to  show  that  when  the  cap 
tain-general  chooses  to  put  an  end  to  the  slave  trade,  it 
is  in  his  power  to  do  so. 

Soon  after  his  arrival,  a  series  of  by-laws  made  for 
the  government  of  the  slaves  was  published,  wherein, 
instead  of  providing  for  the  real  circumstances  of  the 
occasion,  the  dominical  rights  of  the  master  were  sud 
denly  attacked,  yet  not  so  much,  perhaps,  by  their  pos- 


THE    CUBANS.  73 

itive  provisos,  as  by  the  appearance  of  interference  at 
a  period  when  the  restlessness  and  uneasiness  of  the 
blacks  required  measures  of  an  entirely  contrary  nature. 
The  management  of  a  slave  country  is  always  a  difficult 
matter.  To  avoid  the  commission  of  great  errors,  in 
the  condition  of  Cuba,  would  have  been  scarcely  less 
than  miraculous.  The  actual  feelings  of  the  blacks 
could  not,  with  certainty,  be  ascertained  by  individuals 
who  had  either  recently  arrived  from  Spain,  or  never 
attended  on  the  estates  but  for  a  few  moments,  or  dur 
ing  excursions  of  pleasure.  Thus  it  happened,  that 
many  judicious  planters,  judging  from  the  small  and 
gradual  changes  in  the  domestic  life  of  the  blacks,  fore 
saw  the  coming  storm  for  years,  while  the  government 
agent  could  not  comprehend,  and  resolutely  refuted, 
such  opinions  as  they  thought  unnecessarily  alarming, 
and  decidedly  against  their  interest  in  the  African  trade. 

Mr.  Turnbull,  the  English  consul,  who,  from  his 
European  reputation,  would  never  have  been  allowed 
to  occupy  the  post  of  consul  at  Cuba,  had  the  Cuban 
proprietors  had  an  organ  of  complaint,  other  than  the 
government  agents,  concerted  incendiary  plots,  and 
boldly  followed  them,  notwithstanding  the  timely  inter 
ference  of  Garcia,  one  of  the  governors  of  the  city  of 
Matanzas. 

Several  incidents  might  be  named,  evident  precursors 
of  an  insurrection,  which,  for  many  years  before  the 
late  repeated  attempts,  demanded  a  change  in  the  sys 
tem  of  the  whole  island ;  a  change  which  would  have 
taken  place  under  a  government  having  the  means  and 
disposition  to  ascertain  the  true  state  of  things. 

For  the  better  understanding  of  the  subject,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  ancient  balance  of  influence 
established  by  the  Spanish  law  between  the  military 
class  and  the  judicial,  or  lettered  part  of  the  community, 
had  been  altogether  lost ;  the  former  having  been  in 
trusted  with  every  branch  of  the  administration,  even 
to  the  making  of  by-laws  for  the  black  slave  population, 
4 


74 


CUBA    AND 


which  was  submitted  to  the  control  of  government 
agents,  perhaps  under  the  direction  of  their  allies,  the 
slave-dealers.  At  the  same  time  an  ominous  policy 
commenced ;  the  colored  inhabitants  were  particularly 
favored ;  had  numerous  meetings,  called  cabildos,  and 
enjoyed  even  greater  privileges  than  the  whites — being 
formed  into  military  bodies  for  public  defence,  whereas 
the  whites  could  not  form  a  militia  for  their  own  safety, 
even  in  moments  of  pressing  danger,  and  in  those  places 
where  the  disproportion  of  the  races  was  most  frightful. 

Laws  were  enacted,  purporting  to  alleviate  the  con 
dition  of  the  slaves  ;  an  apparent  protection,  calculated 
more  to  harass  the  owner  than  to  realize  the  improve 
ment  of  the  former,  without  any  attempt  to  instruct 
either.  This  was  accompanied  with  the  continuation 
of  the  slave  trade,  and  the  barbarous  political  oppres 
sion  of  the  native  Creoles,  whose  every  thought  was 
looked  upon  with  jealous  suspicion.  It  seemed  evident 
that  the  policy  consisted  in  placing  the  lives  and  prop 
erty  of  the  inhabitants  of  Cuba  in  such  imminent  dan 
ger  as  to  choke  any  feeling  of  resentment  respecting  the 
political  changes  which  the  Spanish  government  adopted 
for  the  exclusive  advantage  of  the  metropolitan  part  of 
the  community.  Thus  was  the  dissatisfaction  of  the 
blacks  fostered.  How  else  can  be  explained  the  cause 
of  the  progress  made  in  the  island  in  that  respect,  and 
not  in  those  slave-holding  countries  which  surround  it, 
and  which,  having  a  more  frightful  disproportion  in 
numbers  between  the  races,  and  greater  freedom  in  the 
press  and  institutions,  are  withal  enjoying  comparative 
tranquillity  ? 

The  bonds  between  master  and  slave  were  gradually 
severed  ;  the  affections  destroyed  ;  the  mutual  relations 
of  the  races,  for  which  the  Spaniards  had  been  always 
distinguished,  were  broken ;  and  while  every  one  depre 
cated  the  perilous  situation  of  the  Cubans,  the  latter 
continued  unarmed ;  the  slave  trade  augmented  the 
causes  of  fear ;  and  no  moral  reform  was  adopted  to 


THE    CUBANS.  75 

soften  the  harsh  features  and  discordant  views  of  the 
subjected  or  of  the  dominant  race.  It  seemed  as  if  oc 
casional  ruptures,  which  should  awaken  the  natives  to 
a  sense  of  danger,  were  the  most  acceptable  offering  to 
the  administration.  Such  did  come  to  pass  from  time 
to  time  ;  what  was  the  nature  of  these  disturbances  can, 
perhaps,  be  best  understood  by  the  following  extract 
from  the  work  of  the  Countess  of  Merlin,  entitled  "  The 
Slaves  in  the  Spanish  Colonies ;"  who,  though  not  a 
solid  writer,  has  a  style  which  savors  of  her  sex,  and  is 
quite  entertaining.  She  wrote  some  where  about  1840  : 
"  The  suavity  of  manner  of  the  Cuban  toward  his 
slave  inspires  the  latter  with  a  respectful  feeling,  which 
is  akin  to  worship  :  there  is  no  limit  to  this  affection ; 
he  would  murder  his  master's  enemy  publicly  in  the 
streets  at  mid-day,  and  would  perish  for  his  sake  under 
torture,  without  giving  a  wink.  To  the  slave,  his  mas 
ter  is  his  country  and  his  family.  The  slave  takes  the 
family  name  of  his  lord  ;  receives  his  children  at  their 
birth ;  shares  with  them  the  food  which  was  prepared 
by  nature  in  female  breasts  ;  serves  them  in  humble 
adoration  from  earliest  infancy.  If  the  master  is  sick, 
the  slave  watches  over  him  day  and  night ;  closes  his 
eyes  in  death  ;  and  when  this  takes  place,  throws  him 
self  sorrowfully  on  the  ground,  cries  wofully,  and  with 
his  nails  rends  his  own  flesh  in  despair.  But  if  a  vin 
dictive  feeling  is  awakened  in  his  bosom,  he  recovers 
his  natural  ferocity ;  he  is  equally  ardent  in  his  hatred 
and  in  his  love ;  but  very  seldom  does  it  happen  that 
his  master  is  the  object  of  his  revengeful  fury.  When 
an  insurrection  is  not  excited  by  foreigners  (which,  by 
the  by,  is  not  often  the  case),  the  cause  of  it  may  be 
traced  to  violent  enmity  toward  the  overseer.  Here  is 
a  fact  which  proves  the  moral  influence  of  the  masters 
over  the  minds  of  these  savages.  A  few  months  pre 
vious  to  my  arrival,  the  blacks  of  the  sugar  estates  of 
my  cousin,  Don  Rafael,  became  insurrected.  The 
slaves  lately  imported  from  Africa  were  mostly  of  the 


76  CUBA    AND 

Luccoomee  tribe,  and  therefore  excellent  workmen,  but 
of  a  violent,  unwieldly  temper,  and  always  ready  to 
hang  themselves  at  the  slightest  opposition  in  their 
way. 

"  It  was  just  after  the  bell  had  struck  five,  and  the 
dawn  of  morning  was  scarcely  visible.  Don  Rafael  had 
gone  over  to  another  of  his  estates,  within  half  an  hour 
before,  leaving  behind  him,  and  still  in  tranquil  slum 
bers,  his  four  children  and  his  wife,  who  was  in  a  state 
of  pregnancy.  Of  a  sudden  the  latter  awakes,  terrified 
by  hideous  cries,  and  the  sound  of  hurried  steps.  She 
jumps  affrighted  from  her  bed,  and  observes  that  all  the 
negroes  of  the  estate  are  making  their  way  to  the  house. 
She  is  instantly  surrounded  by  her  children,  weeping 
and  crying  at  her  side.  Being  attended  solely  by  slaves, 
she  thought  herself  inevitably  lost ;  but  scarcely  had  she 
time  to  canvass  these  ideas  in  her  distracted  mind,  when 
one  of  her  negro  girls  came  in,  saying,  c  Child,  your 
bounty  need  have  no  fears  ;  we  have  fastened  all  the 
doors,  and  Michael  is  gone  for  master.'  Her  compan 
ions  placed  themselves  on  all  sides  of  their  female  own 
er,  while  the  rebels  advanced,  tossing  from  hand  to 
hand  among  themselves  a  bloody  corse,  with  cries  as 
awful  as  the  hissing  of  the  serpent  in  the  desert.  The 
negro  girls  exclaimed,  c  That's  the  overseer's  body  !' 
The  rebels  were  already  at  the  door,  when  Pepilla  (this 
is  the  name  of  the  lady),  saw  the  carriage  of  her  hus 
band  coming  at  full  speed.  That  sweet  soul,  who,  until 
that  moment,  had  valiantly  awaited  death,  was  now 
overpowered  at  the  sight  of  her  husband  coming  un 
armed  toward  the  infuriated  mob,  and  she  fainted.  In 
the  mean  time,  Rafael  descends  from  the  vehicle,  places 
himself  in  front  of  them,  and  with  only  one  severe  look, 
and  a  single  sign  of  the  hand,  designates  the  purging 
house  for  them  to  go  to.  The  slaves  suddenly  become 
silent,  abandon  the  dead  body  of  their  overseer,  and, 
with  downcast  faces,  still  holding  their  field-swords  in 
their  hands,  they  turn  round  and  enter  where  they  had 


THE    CUBANS.  77 

been  ordered.  Well  might  it  be  said,  that  they  beheld 
in  the  man  who  stood  before  them  the  exterminating 
angel." 

It  should  be  observed,  with  regard  to  this  moral  in 
fluence,  which  can  always  be  more  or  less  preserved, 
that  it  is  the  source  of  safety  for  every  slave  country  as 
long  as  slavery  is  sustained,  and  the  guarantee  of  order 
when  it  is  abolished.  Painful  is  it,  therefore,  to  see  it 
fast  declining  in  the  island,  since  the  military  menials 
of  government  in  the  interior  take  pleasure  in,  and  ex 
tort  scandalous  profit  by,  debasing  and  robbing  the  de 
graded,  uninstructed  white  population. 

Where  a  free  white  man  can  be  carried  publicly 
through  the  country  with  his  arms  tied  behind  him  (the 
American  citizens,  Christopher  Boone  and  others,  were 
thus  ignominiously  exposed),  merely  on  suspicion,  or 
through  the  malignant  avarice  of  an  illiterate,  ignorant 
soldier,  acting  as  sole  authority  in  the  land,  the  white 
race  cannot  command  that  respect,  and  exercise  the  in 
fluence,  which  saves  the  southern  states  from  continued 
insurrections. 

"  Although  the  movement,"  the  countess  continues, 
"had  for  a  moment  subsided,  Rafael,  who  was  not 
aware  of  its  cause,  and  feared  the  results,  selected  the 
opportunity  to  hurry  his  family  away  from  the  danger. 
The  quitrin,  or  vehicle  of  the  country,  could  not  hold 
more  than  two  persons,  and  it  would  have  been  impru 
dent  to  wait  till  more  conveyances  were  in  readiness. 
Pepilla  and  the  children  were  placed  in  it  in  the  best 
possible  manner ;  and  they  were  on  the  point  of  start 
ing,  when  a  man,  covered  with  wounds,  with  a  haggard, 
deathlike  look,  approached  the  wheels  of  the  quitrin,  as 
if  he  meant  to  climb  by  them.  In  his  pale  face  the 
marks  of  despair  and  the  symptoms  of  death  could  be 
traced,  and  fear  and  bitter  anguish  were  the  feelings 
which  agitated  his  soul  in  the  last  moments  of  his  life. 
He  was  the  white  accountant,  who  had  been  nearly 
murdered  by  the  blacks,  and  having  escaped  from  their 


78 


CUBA    AND 


ferocious  hold,  was  making  the  last  efforts  to  save  a 
mere  breath  of  life.  His  cries,  his  prayers,  were  cal 
culated  to  make  the  heart  faint.  Rafael  found  himself 
in  the  cruel  alternative  of  being  deaf  to  the  request  of 
a  dying  man,  or  throwing  his  bloody  and  expiring  corse 
over  his  children  :  his  pity  conquered ;  the  accountant 
was  placed  in  the  carriage  as  well  as  might  be,  and  it 
moved  away  from  the  spot. 

"  While  this  was  passing  on  the  estate  of  Rafael,  the 
Marquis  of  Cardenas,  Pepilla's  brother,  whose  planta 
tions  were  two  leagues  off,  who  had  been  apprised 
through  a  slave  of  the  danger  with  which  his  sister  was 
threatened,  hastened  to  her  aid.  On  reaching  the  spot, 
he  noticed  a  number  of  the  rebels,  who,  impelled  by  a 
remnant  of  rage,  or  the  fear  of  punishment,  were  di 
recting  their  course  to  the  Sabanas,*  searching  for 
safety  among  runaway  slaves.  The  Marquis  of  Carde 
nas,  whose  sense  of  the  danger  of  his  sister  had  induced 
him  to  fly  to  her  help,  had  brought  with  him,  in  the 
hurry  of  the  moment,  no  one  to  guard  his  person  except 
a  single  slave.  Scarcely  had  the  fugitive  band  per 
ceived  a  white  man,  when  they  went  toward  him.  The 
marquis  stopped  his  course  and  prepared  to  meet  them  ; 
it  was  a  useless  temerity  in  him  against  such  odds. 
Turning  his  master's  horse  by  the  bridle,  his  own  slave 
addressed  him  thus  :  '  My  master,  let  your  bounty  get 
away  from  here  ;  let  me  come  to  an  understanding  with 
them.'  And  he  then  whipped  his  master's  horse,  which 
went  off  at  a  gallop. 

"  The  valiant  '  JOSE,'  for  his  name  is  as  worthy  of 
being  remembered  as  that  of  a  hero,  went  on  toward 
the  savage  mob,  so  as  to  gain  time  for  his  master  to 
fly,  and  fell  a  victim  to  his  devotedness,  after  receiving 
thirty-six  sword-blows.  This  rising,  which  had  not 
been  premeditated,  had  no  other  consequences.  It  had 
originated  in  a  severe  chastisement  inflicted  by  the  over- 

*  The  Sabanas  are  large  open  and  barren  plains,  the  last  abodea 
resorted  to  by  runaway  slaves. 


THE    CUBANS.  79 

seer,  which  had  prompted  the  rebels  to  march  toward 
the  owner's  dwelling,  to  expound  their  complaint. 
They  begged  Rafael's  pardon,  which  was  granted,  with 
the  exception  of  two  or  three,  who  were  delivered  over 
to  the  tribunals.  A  remarkable  truth  of  the  love  of 
the  slaves  toward  their  lord,  is  the  fact  of  their  stopping 
in  the  outset  the  engine  which  was  at  the  time  grind 
ing,  and  preventing  the  explosion  which  would  other 
wise  have  taken  place.  Not  only  do  the  inhabitants  of 
Cuba  forward  the  emancipation  of  their  slaves  by  pro 
curing  for  them  the  means  of  gaining  money,  but  they 
often  make  the  grant  without  any  retribution.  A  ser 
vice  of  importance,  a  mark  of  attachment,  the  act  of 
nursing  the  master's  child,  assiduous  care  during  the 
last  illness,  or  the  priority  of  services  of  an  old  mem 
ber  of  the  family,  are  all  acts  rewarded  by  the  gift  of 
liberty.  Sometimes  the  slave  considers  this  benefit  as 
a  punishment,  and  receives  it  weeping." 

These  are  very  charming  ideas.  It  is  a  pity  that  the 
countess  should,  by  entering  continually  in  the  field  of 
romance,  get  so  far  from  the  regions  of  truth.  This 
remark,  however,  applies,  in  the  paragraphs  quoted, 
only  to  the  assertion  that  the  slaves  in  any  case  object 
to  being  made  free,  or  that  such  gifts  are  so  common. 
There  are  facts  both  pleasing  to  the  philanthropist  and 
worthy  of  credit.  The  following,  from  the  touching 
pen  of  the  lady  of  Merlin,  afford  a  happy  illustration 
of  them  : 

"  Though  the  slave  enjoys  the  right  of  holding  prop 
erty,  at  his  death  it  passes  to  the  master ;  but  if  he 
leaves  children,  the  proprietor  never  deprives  them  of 
the  inheritance.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  free 
negro  makes  his  will  in  favor  of  his  former  master. 
Here  is  an  example.  During  the  scourge  of  the  chol 
era,  an  old  woman  was  attending  the  sick  negroes  of 
my  brother.  She  had  continued  in  his  service,  although 
she  had  freed  herself  many  years  before.  Being  taken 
with  the  disease,  she  called  my  brother  and  said  to  him  : 


so 


CUBA    AND 


4  My  master,  I  am  going  to  die.  These  eighteen  ounces 
of  gold  are  for  your  bounty ;  this  piece  of  money  for 
my  comrades  ;  and  this  good  old  man,  my  husband,  also, 
if  your  bounty  will  let  him  have  an  ounce  to  help  him 
on  through  life,  it  is  well.'  The  poor  old  woman  did 
not  die,  but  had  a  most  miraculous  escape. 

"  I  will  refer  to  another  anecdote,  showing  the  lofty 
and  delicate  feeling  in  the  heart  of  a  slave.  The  Count 
of  Gibacoa  owned  a  slave,  who,  being  desirous  of  ran 
soming  himself,  asked  his  master  '  how  much  he  asked 
for  him  V  The  answer  was,  *  Nothing ;  thou  art  free 
henceforth.'  The  negro  was  silent,  looked  at  his  mas 
ter,  wept,  and  went  off.  A  few  hours  afterward  he 
returned,  bringing  with  him  a  fine  bozal,  or  newly-im 
ported  African,  whom  he  had  purchased  with  the  sum 
intended  for  his  freedom ;  and  he  said  to  the  count : 
'  My  master,  your  bounty  had  one  slave  before ;  it  has 
now  two.' 

"  The  blacks  become  identified  with  the  affairs  of 
their  masters,  and  take  part  in  their  quarrels.  The 
captain-general,  Tacon,  who,  during  the  time  of  his 
government  in  Cuba,  performed  some  few  beneficent 
acts  in  this  colony,  but  from  his  harsh  and  inflexible 
temper  excited  much  ill-feeling,  and  took  pleasure  in 
humbling  the  nobility  by  his  despotism,  had  persecuted 
the  Marquis  of  Casa  Calvo,  who  died  while  exiled. 
Some  time  afterward,  and  for  the  purpose  of  a  magnifi 
cent  banquet,  which  Tacon  was  to  give  the  latter,  he 
solicited  the  more  renowned  cooks  of  the  city ;  but  the 
best  of  them  was  a  slave  to  the  Marchioness  of  Arcos, 
a  daughter  of  the  unfortunate  Casa  Calvo.  Dazzled 
by  the  very  height  of  his  station,  the  general  imagined 
that  nothing  would  oppose  his  will ;  and  he  asked  the 
lady  to  allow  him  the  services  of  the  cook ;  but  she,  as 
might  be  expected,  refused.  Mortified  with  the  failure, 
the  general  offered  the  negro  not  only  his  freedom,  but 
an  additional  and  abundant  gift,  should  he  choose  to 
enter  his  service ;  but  the  negro  answered :  c  Tell  the 


THE    CUBANS.  81 

governor  that  I  prefer  slavery  and  poverty  with  my 
master  to  wealth  and  liberty  with  him.'  ' 

These  acts,  however,  of  devoted  fidelity  on  the  part  of 
the  slaves  are  descriptive  of  a  period  in  the  history  of 
the  slavery  of  Cuba  long  since  passed.  Though  the  ro 
mantic  and  very  youthful  heart  of  the  countess  would 
prolong  the  dream,  every  one  must  be  awakened  to  the 
sad  reality  which  now  covers  this  land. 

Not  very  far  apart,  in  time,  from  the  insurrection  of 
Montalvo,  another  took  place,  some  where  near  Agu- 
acate.  In  1842,  there  was  one  in  Martiaro,  for  the 
second  time.  On  the  last  occasion,  the  slaves  were 
made  bold  by  the  impunity  which,  through  the  deranged 
system  of  justice,  and  the  influence  of  their  owner,  had 
been  obtained  for  them  previously.  In  the  same  year, 
the  captain  of  the  district  of  Lagunillas  found  an  in 
cendiary  proclamation,  which  had  fallen  from  the  pock 
et  of  a  foreign  mulatto,  who  was  employed  as  mason. 
A  monk  appeared  on  an  estate  near  Limonar,*  under 
pretence  of  requesting  alms  for  the  Virgin,  whose  image 
he  carried  with  him,  and  went  on  prophesying  to  the 
blacks,  that  on  St.  John's  day  they  would  become  free. 
In  July  of  the  same  year,  the  slaves  of  an  estate  near 
Bemba  committed  several  acts  of  insubordination,  and 
murdered  a  neighbor.  An  Italian  hair-dresser  was  im 
prisoned  in  1841  for  receiving  proclamations  of  an  in 
cendiary  nature.  The  negroes  of  Aldama,  under  the 
very  walls  of  Havana,  refused  to  work,  and  claimed  the 
right  of  freedom.  In  January,  1843,  a  colored  man, 
suspected  by  his  companions  of  having  revealed  the  par 
ticulars  of  the  murder  of  an  officer  of  government,  by 
the  name  of  Becerra,  was  assassinated  by  one  of  his 
own  class,  who,  being  afterward  taken,  committed  sui 
cide  in  gaol.  In  March,  1843,  there  happened  at 
Bemba  an  insurrection  of  five  hundred  negroes,  belong 
ing  to  the  railroad  company  and  others.  Very  soon 
after,  there  was  another  movement  on  a  large  estate ; 

*  The  Triangulo. 

4* 


82  CUBA    AND 

and  before  that  year  closed,  it  occurred  a  second  time. 
Soon  after,  the  insurgents  made  a  formal  rally,  doing 
many  bloody  deeds,  and  murdering  numbers  of  the 
whites  of  different  ages  and  sexes. 

The  above  brief  retrospective  view  of  a  few  only  of 
the  principal  signs  which  were  indicative  of  disquietude 
among  the  slave  population  is  very  important  at  the 
present  da}^,  when  the  irregularity  of  the  proceedings 
in  the  discovery  of  the  plot  has  been  the  origin  of  an 
absolute  disbelief  of  all  charges  against  every  one  of 
the  slave  population.  The  information  received  offi 
cially  at  Havana  from  the  Spanish  minister  at  Wash 
ington,  and  through  the  court  of  Madrid,  as  far  back 
as  1834,  in  which  the  dangers  which  threatened  the 
island  were  fully  shown,  had  been  altogether  slighted. 
So  also  were  these  events,  though  marked  with  blood, 
and  showing  unequivocal  symptoms  of  a  coming  storm. 
It  gathered  not  in  a  single  day,  but  came  gradually  on  ; 
and  the  humbled  landholder  was  doomed  to  see  the 
clouds  of  destruction  hanging  over  his  property,  amid 
the  general  apathy  of  the  officers  of  government,  who 
alone  were  intrusted  with  the  care  of  that  in  which  they 
felt  no  interest. 

A  rich  planter,  having  obtained,  subsequently  to  the 
last  bloody  insurrection  of  November,  1843,  by  means 
of  a  negro  woman,  and  by  hiding  himself  during  the 
night  in  the  room  where  she  slept  with  her  husband, 
the  particulars  of  a  plan  of  devastation  and  bloodshed 
so  extended  as  to  make  him  shudder  with  horror,  the 
local  government  seemed  at  length  to  awake  from  a 
sleep  fraught  with  such  imminent  danger.  One  of  the 
immediate  results  was  a  meeting  of  the  planters  called 
in  the  city  of  Matanzas  for  the  third  of  December. 
The  meeting  was  held  ;  a  committee  named  to  propose, 
on  the  seventeenth,  a  report,-which  report  being  unfa 
vorable  to  the  slave  trade,  the  planters  were  not  al 
lowed  to  meet  again,  and  the  military  administration 
went  through  those  difficult  circumstances,  gui-led  by 


THE    CUBANS.  83 

its  own  incompetent  intelligence,  or  by  the  suggestions 
of  the  ignorant. 

How  did  they  act  1  What  system  did  they  adopt  to 
quell  the  general  commotion  among  the  colored  popu 
lation,  which  was  so  visible  to  every  eye  ?  The  answer 
to  these  questions  will  be  found  in  the  ungrateful  task 
which  it  is  here  necessary  to  perform. 

Under  the  impression  derived  from  some  testimony 
obtained  by  the  military  tribunals,  established  for  the 
occasion,  and  composed  of  officers  of  inferior  grade,  it 
was  supposed  that  the  conspiracy  framed  by  the  blacks 
comprehended  every  individual  of  that  unfortunate 
class.  No  one  was  excepted :  every  one  must  be 
guilty  ;  and  those  who  would  or  could  reveal  nothing, 
were  marked  as  the  most  criminal.  Acting  upon  this 
ground,  a  general  investigation,  or  what  was  called 
"  expurgo"  was  ordered  throughout  the  whole  land, 
and  intrusted  to  the  most  ignorant  officers,  whose  sys 
tem  of  inquiry  was  reduced  to  questions  implying  the 
answers  required,  and  accompanied  by  the  most  vio 
lent  chastisement,  often  inflicted  in  such  a  manner  as 
sooner  or  later  to  produce  death.  Suggestions  were 
made  of  the  utility  of  employing  lawyers  of  eminent 
standing,  whose  ingenuity  and  capacity  would  have 
advanced  the  proceedings  efficiently ;  but  nothing  of 
the  kind  met  a  hearing.  The  following  are  a  few  of 
the  atrocious  acts  which  resulted  from  conferring  judi 
cial  powers  upon  military  officers  of  an  inferior  class. 

Under  date  of  March  6th,  1844,  the  captain-general 
addressed  a  letter  to  General  Salas,  who  presided  over 
the  military  tribunal  stationed  in  the  interior,  in  an 
swer  to  the  dispatches  of  the  latter,  consulting  him  as 
to  the  necessity  of  using  violent  means  in  the  prosecu 
tion  of  those  free  colored  persons  under  indictment, 
who  should  refuse  to  dis«over  their  associates,  and  set 
ting  forth  the  good  effects  which  those  means  had  pro 
duced  among  the  slaves.  In  this  letter  his  excellency 
authorized  these  same  means  to  be  employed  with  the 


84  CUBA    AND 

free  colored  population,  and  manifested  his  approbation 
of  their  chastisement  in  the  country  where  they  should 
be  taken,  and  of  the  attendance  of  the  officer,  in  order 
to  certify  the  testimony  ! 

These  officers,  thus  raised  by  a  power  above  the 
laws,  and  above  the  dominical  rights  of  the  owners  of 
slaves,  with  very  few  exceptions,  exercised  their  au 
thority  in  a  manner  the  most  sordid,  brutal,  and  san 
guinary.  Under  the  universal  alarm  raised,  and  ex 
tending  to  every  hut,  whoever  was  bold  enough  to 
insinuate  a  doubt  respecting  facts  revealed  under  the 
most  atrocious  tortures,  was  deemed  an  abolitionist ; 
although  his  interests  and  previous  conduct  presented 
a  much  safer  guarantee  of  his  opinions  than  the  trust 
which  should  be  placed  in  uneducated  and  hungry  offi 
cers  of  the  army.  It  was  quite  common  for  the  latter 
to  demand  and  obtain  money  from  the  accused,  in  or 
der  to  save  their  lives,  or  their  bodies  from  barbarous 
lashing. 

One  of  these  prosecuting  attorneys,  judges,  and  exe 
cutioners,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  namely,  Don 
Ramon  Gonzales,  ordered  his  victims  to  be  taken  to 
a  room  which  had  been  whitewashed,  and  the  walls  of 
which  were  besmeared  with  blood  and  small  pieces  of 
flesh,  from  the  wretches  who  had  preceded  them  in  this 
cruel  treatment.  There  stood  a  bloody  ladder,  where 
the  accused  were  tied,  with  their  heads  downward,  and 
whether  free  or  slave,  if  they  would  not  avow  what  the 
fiscal  officer  insinuated,  were  whipped  to  death  by  two 
stout  mulattoes  selected  for  this  purpose.  They  were 
scourged  with  leather  straps,  having  at  the  end  a  small 
destructive  button,  made  of  fine  wire.  At  the  spot 
called  the  farm  of  Soto,  were  butchered  in  this  man 
ner  M.  Ruiz,  C.  Tolon,  George  Blakely,  and  other 
freemen ;  and  their  deaths  were  made  to  appear,  by 
certificates  from  physicians,  as  having  been  caused  by 
diarrhoea.  This  new  minister  of  the  law  had  been 
formerly  prosecuted  for  theft,  extortion,  and  even 


THE    CUBANS.  85 

deeper  crimes,  committed  while  he  commanded  the 
criminal's  depot. 

Don  Mariano  F brought  on  himself  the  execra 
tion  and  odium  of  the  whole  city  of  Matanzas  for  his 
barbarous  treatment  of  Andrew  Dodge,  a  colored  man, 
born  free,  who  was  generally  beloved  and  esteemed, 
and  was  the  owner  of  a  considerable  property.  He 
was  tied  to  the  ladder  and  flogged  on  three  different 
occasions,  but  never  avowed  what  he  was  accused  of; 
and  finally  he  was  executed,  in  defiance  even  of  those 
sanguinary  laws  of  old,  which  instituted  the  ordeal  of 
torture  in  ages  called  barbarous.  He  also  caused  a  free 
negro,  Pedro  Nunez,  to  be  tied  hand-and-foot  and  hung 
to  the  ceiling  of  the  house,  keeping  him  in  this  painful 
position  through  the  night,  his  body  having  been  pre 
viously  lacerated  by  the  whip.  Again,  by  threatening 
to  inflict  punishment,  he  obtained  from  the  mulatto, 
Thomas  Vargas,  an  affidavit  against  a  man  of  the  same 
class,  called  Fonten.  He  used  to  visit  Vargas  at  his 
dungeon  every  day  after  sentence  had  been  passed  on 
him,  to  assure  him  sportingly  that  he  would  not  fail  to 
receive  four  bullets  through  his  body.  The  prophecy 
was  of  course  fulfilled. 

Don  Juan  Costa,  another  of  the  acting  officers,  had 
likewise  his  share  in  this  work  of  accusation ;  and 
there  were,  in  the  process  of  his  making,  ninety-six 
certificates  of  an  equal  number  of  deaths  of  the  indicted 
during  the  investigation.  Of  these,  forty-two  were 
freemen  and  fifty-four  slaves.  They  all  had  died 
under  the  lash ;  and  that  you  may  judge  of  the  in 
tensity  of  their  sufferings,  I  will  record  what  appears 
from  the  process,  viz.  :  "  Lorenzo  Sanchez,  imprisoned 
on  the  first  of  April,  died  on  the  fourth ;  Joseph  Ce- 
vallero,  imprisoned  on  the  fourth,  died  on  the  sixth ; 
John  Austin  Molino,  imprisoned  on  the  ninth,  died  on 
the  twelfth :  and  so  on  through  an  infinite  number. 

Don  Jose  del  Peso  punished  a  negro  one  hundred 
and  ten  years  old,  who  died  at  the  Matanzas  jail. 


86  CUBA    AND 

Don  Francisco  Illas,  the  enlightened  and  humane  fiscal 
officer,  who  appears  among  those  of  his  class  as  if  to 
redeem  the  Spanish  name  from  the  dark  stain  brought 
upon  it  by  his  associate,  was  called  to  certify  to  the 
death  of  this  old  man ;  but  he  drew  back  horror-struck 
from  the  spot  when  he  beheld  a  man  so  worn  by  age, 
having  his  body  cut  into  pieces  by  the  pitiless  lash. 
The  unfortunate  victim  had  complained  of  the  fiscal 
Peso,  accusing  him  of  stealing  from  him  forty-five  dol 
lars.  Del  Peso,  after  inflicting  severe  punishment, 
found  sport  in  hanging  the  accused  victims  on  a  tree, 
and  then  cutting  the  ropes  to  see  them  fall  to  the 
ground  in  bunches.  He  had  been  a  journeyman  tailor 
at  Havana. 

Don  Ferdinand  Percher  presented  his  process,  hav 
ing  seventy-two  certificates  of  deaths  of  prisoners  dur 
ing  the  prosecution;  twenty-nine  freemen  and  forty- 
three  slaves.  "  I  have  one  hundred  prisoners  in 
souse,"  said  he  once,  before  a  number  of  respectable 
citizens,  "  and  if  one  escapes  I  am  willing  to  have  him 
nailed  to  my  forehead." 

Don  Leon  Dulzaides,  in  July,  1844,  had  a  free  ne 
gro  placed  in  the  jail  in  what  is  called  "campaign- 
stocks,"  which  is  a  most  distressing  position  of  the 
body,  the  arms  being  arranged  so  as  to  hold  the  legs ; 
and  thus  placed,  ordered  him  to  be  whipped  unmerci 
fully,  until  he  should  confess.  Another  of  the  fiscals, 
who  was  acting  in  his  official  character  in  the  next 
room,  was  called  by  the  cries  of  the  victim,  and  ob 
tained  for  him  a  suspension  of  punishment.  Dulzaides 
demanded  the  punishment  of  death  for  twenty-seven 
prisoners,  but  the  council  sentenced  only  two.  Dur 
ing  the  reading  of  the  sentence,  he  used  to  ask  money 
of  such  as  were  saved  from  death.  Seventy  prisoners 

of  Don  Jyacinth died  during  the  prosecution,  of 

whom  thirty-five  were  freemen.     This  fiscal  was  sus 
pended  from  office. 

Don  Miguel  Ballo  de  la  Rore,  being  on  the  estate 


THE    CUBANS.  87 

of  Oviedo,  extorted  from  the  negroes  affidavits  accus 
ing  their  master,  who  being  absent,  was  apprised 
through  his  administrator  or  econome,  that  he  was  a 
lost  man,  but  that  the  fiscal  would  save  him,  provided 
he  paid  two  hundred  ounces  of  gold.  The  administra 
tor  wrote  several  letters  on  the  subject,  which  were 
handed  to  General  Salas,  president  of  the  tribune,  who 
wrote  to  the  fiscal,  ordering  him  not  to  continue  the 
prosecution  on  that  estate. 

Don  Manuel  Siburu,  fiscal  of  the  prosecution  against 
the  English  and  American  machinists,  had  demanded 
in  his  accusation  the  sentence  of  death  upon  an  Eng 
lishman  named  Elkins.  The  members  of  the  military 
tribunals,  however,  being  intimidated  by  the  conse 
quences  that  might  follow,  and  at  the  same  time  well 
aware  that  the  testimony  had  been  extorted  by  the  lash, 
consulted  respecting  the  case  with  General  O'Donnell. 
The  latter  answered,  that  they  should  proceed  from 
what  they  found  in  the  process,  and  look  well  to  what 
they  did ;  which,  as  there  was  no  mention  of  the  tor 
ture  in  the  proceedings,  meant  that  they  should  crown 
by  their  sentence  the  system  of  barbarous  cruelty  com 
menced  by  the  fiscals.  The  consultation  was  repeated, 
and  a  similar  answer  obtained.  At  the  same  time,  Mr. 
Crawford,  the  English  consul  at  Havana,  officially  in 
formed  the  captain-general  that  he  was  aware  that  the 
British  Majesty's  subjects  were  being  indicted  and 
judged  at  Matanzas  in  a  manner  different  from  that 
adopted  toward  Spanish  subjects ;  that  as  the  testimo 
ny  had  been  obtained  by  forcible  means,  whatever  had 
been  done  was  null ;  that  there  existed  a  treaty  be 
tween  the  two  nations,  wherein  it  was  stipulated  that 
no  Englishman  should  be  judged  in  the  Spanish  domin 
ions  by  special  tribunals  or  committees,  but  by  the 
regular  order  of  the  Spanish  laws  for  Spa,nia,rds.  The 
consul  was  persevering  in  his  demand,  and  the  captain- 
general,  embarrassed  also  by  the  consultations  afore 
said,  was  obliged  to  give  up ;  and  he  consequently  or- 


88  CUBA    AND 

dered  that  the  prosecution  against  foreigners  should  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Don  Francisco  Illas,  to  be  made 
anew.  This  able  officer  soon  perceived  that  nothing 
was  to  be  met  with  in  what  had  been  done  but  false 
hood,  infamy,  and  calumny,  disconnectedly  thrown  to 
gether  by  the  stupid  Siburu.  Within  two  months  af 
terward  the  prisoners  were  declared  inndcent,  and  lib 
erated.  It  was  in  the  presence  of  this  same  Siburu, 
that  another  of  his  prisoners,  the  aged  and  respectable 
mulatto,  Ceballos,  well  known  and  esteemed  by  the 
merchants  of  Havana,  suddenly  expired  on  being  shown 
the  place  of  torture. 

Don  Pedro  Linares  had  three  old  Indians  whipped 
in  Cardenas,  two  of  whom  died,  who  lived  in  that  neigh 
borhood,  and  had  resided  on  the  island  since  the  ac 
quisition  of  Florida  by  the  United  States,  whence 
they  had  come,  from  their  attachment  to  the  Spanish 
nation.  Don  Pedro  Acevedo,  fiscal  of  the  proceedings 
against  the  negroes  on  the  coffee  estate  of  Domech,  who 
had  been  accused  of  possessing  poison  (which,  by  the 
by,  was  never  found)  for  the  purpose  of  killing  their 
master,  so  contrived  it  as  to  throw  the  guilt  on  a  young 
white  man,  a  native  of  the  Canary  Islands,  aged  be 
tween  nineteen  and  twenty-one,  who  was  executed,  de 
claring  his  innocence  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life. 
On  being  exhorted  by  the  priest  to  pardon  his  enemies, 
he  complied  with  the  request,  excepting  the  fiscal,  Ace 
vedo,  whom  he  could  not  pardon. 

Don  Pedro  Llanes,  another  of  the  fiscals,  filled  up  the 
measure  of  his  crimes,  which  cried  so  loudly  for  punish 
ment,  that  he  was  at  length  accused  of  numberless  rob 
beries,  extortions  of  money,  and  all  kinds  of  wickedness, 
and  at  last  was  stopped  in  his  dark  career,  and  impris 
oned  in  the  Havana  jail.  There,  under  the  stingings  of 
conscience,  he  placed  in  the  hands  of  General  O'Don- 
nell  two  hundred  and  fifty  ounces  of  gold,  which  had 
been  the  fruits  of  his  rapacity ;  and  soon  after  com 
mitted  suicide  by  cutting  his  throat.  Don  Manuel 


THE    CUBANS. 


89 


Mata,  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Carlist  ranks  in  1834, 
another  of  the  fiscals,  was  imprisoned  at  Havana  for  ex 
cesses  and  robberies  committed  in  his  official  character 
during  these  disgraceful  proceedings. 

The  remaining  fiscals,  Gala,  Gherci,  Flores  Apodaca, 
Cruces,  Custardoz,  Marcotegui,  Maso,  Llorens,  Sanchez, 
Rosquin,  Baltanas,  Alvarez  Murillo,  and  Dominich,  trav 
ersed  the  country  in  every  direction,  and  strictly  obeyed 
the  orders  they  had  received ;  some  whipping  or  tor 
turing  free  colored  or  slave  individuals,  and  extorting 
false  testimony  and  accusations,  and  others  seizing 
horses,  cattle,  furniture,  and  whatever  was  owned  by 
the  free  colored  persons,  all  which  they  sold  and  con 
verted  into  cash.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that 
the  fiscals  took  from  their  victims  every  cent  which 
they  possessed. 

It  is  but  justice  to  add,  that  the  fiscals  named  Men- 
doza,  Arango,  and  Illas  are  honorable  exceptions  to  this 
host  of  miscreants.  Signor  Illas,  above  all,  has  called 
forth  the  approbation  of  all  the  feeling  part  of  the  com 
munity,  and  of  the  friends  of  justice  and  humanity,  for 
his  able,  judicious,  disinterested,  and  impartial  conduct 
and  deportment  in  the  cases  of  the  French,  coffee -plan 
ters  and  the  English  and  American  machinists,  as  well 
as  of  all  who  fell  under  his  control.  In  the  cases  un 
der  the  direction  of  the  fiscal  Ballo,  this  officer  did  not 
demand  that  sentence  of  death  should  be  pronounced  on 
any  of  his  prisoners ;  the  tribunal  nevertheless  sen 
tenced  two.  The  fiscal  Lara  demanded  death  for  only 
one,  and  the  tribunal  sentenced  four.  The  sergeant 
intrusted  with  the  custody  of  the  prisoners  in  the  mili 
tary  jail  at  Matanzas  is  said  to  have  collected  twenty 
thousand  dollars  in  cash  for  prison-fees  and  other  ar 
bitrary  charges  exacted  from  the  prisoners. 

In  the  city  of  Matanzas,  the  general  persecution  of 
the  colored  race  was  converted  by  the  fiscals  into  means 
of  gratifying  their  lewd  passions  upon  the  distracted 
daughters,  wives,  and  sisters  of  their  male  victims.  So 


90  CUBA    AND 

far  did  they  carry  their  barefaced  impudence,  that  a  ball 
was  given  by  several  of  the  fiscals,  and  attended  by  the 
consulting  lawyer  of  the  military  tribunal,  where  none 
but  women  of  color  appeared.  At  a  late  hour  of  the 
night,  the  doors  were  closed  ;  and  all  the  inmates  being 
in  a  state  of  disgraceful  nudity,  one  can  imagine  what 
scenes  of  revelry  and  debauch  followed.  Acts  of  such 
low  and  stupid  infamy  serve  to  show  how  the  several 
channels  of  civilization  are  interwoven,  and  how  easy  it 
is  for  man,  when  once  authorized  to  trample  on  any  of 
the  salutary  restraints  of  society,  to  mock  and  despise 
whatever  comes  in  the  way  of  his  most  sensual  appetites. 

And  now,  in  order  justly  to  estimate  the  trust  placed  in 
the  hands  of  these  agents  of  military  justice,  the  nature 
of  their  duties  should  be  stated.  They  had  separately 
the  jurisdiction  of  a  tribunal,  with  power  to  imprison 
and  call  before  them  whomsoever  they  would  interro 
gate.  The  testimony  which  they  obtained  was  received 
privately,  no  one  being  present  except  the  fiscal  and 
the  witness.  The  fiscal  would  write  down  and  sign  the 
declaration,  the  blacks  and  the  majority  of  witnesses 
knowing  neither  how  to  read  nor  write.  Not  even  the 
notary,  who  is  required  to  be  present  at  the  affidavits 
before  the  ordinary  tribunals,  appeared  on  these  occa 
sions  to  check  the  arbitrary,  malicious,  or  blind  impres 
sions  of  the  fiscal.  Officers  of  the  army  were  named 
to  act  as  counsel  for  the  individuals  indicted,  whether 
colored  or  white,  free  or  bondsmen.  These  counselors, 
incapable  through  lack  of  talent  or  learning,  were  not 
allowed  to  read  the  proceedings  regarding  the  persons 
whom  they  were  to  defend.  All  the  instruction  they 
had  must  be  derived  from  a  hasty  and  general  abstract 
of  facts  made  by  the  same  fiscal,  whose  last  duty  was 
to  demand  the  sentence  which,  in  his  opinion,  should  be 
imposed  on  the  criminal. 

Too  much  blame  should  not  be  attributed  to  the 
chief  who,  commanding  the  island  at  this  delicate  pe 
riod,  could  not  be  approached  by  the  wisdom  and  in- 


THE    CUBANS.  91 

telligence  of  the  land.  The  invariable  and  jeaious  pol 
icy  which,  for  many  years,  has  directed  the  administra 
tion  of  Cuba,  drew  away  from  the  absolute  military 
authority  whatever  was  enlightened  and  spirited.  Men 
of  vulgar  habits  and  little  education  were  the  natural 
upholders  of  a  barbarous  system ;  and  it  was  not  easy 
to  find  officers  of  superior  worth  to  act  under  a  cruel 
impulse,  and  to  execute  sanguinary  orders  ;  so  that  this 
strange  course  was  unavoidably  placed  in  the  most  in 
capable  or  polluted  hands.  It  is,  therefore,  manifest 
ly  unjust  to  charge  upon  the  chief  authority  of  the 
island  the  faults  which  were  due  to  the  political  jeal 
ousy,  or  the  institutions,  if  such  a  name  can  be  ap 
plied  to  the  despotism  established.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  it  would  be  an  embarrassing  question  for  those 
who  have  professedly  enhanced  acts  of  the  same  high 
functionary,  to  analyze  and  point  out  minutely  the 
measures  by  which  the  island ,  has  been  saved,  and 
wherein  the  high  capacity  of  the  chief  magistrate  has 
been  made  manifest. 

With  regard  to  the  truth  of  the  conspiracy,  and 
whatever  ground  it  originally  had,  it  has  been  so  much 
embroiled  and  connected  with  incoherent,  false,  and  im 
probable  testimony,  adduced  by  the  fear  of  punishment, 
that  a  general  opinion  is  fast  gaining  ground  at  the 
present  day,  that  it  never  existed,  and  that  the  few  re 
ports  and  conversations  of  a  rebellious  nature,  men 
tioned  with  some  plausibility  in  the  course  of  the  inves 
tigations,  are  the  constant  and  latent  workings  of  the 
slaves,  which,  in  all  ages,  have  accompanied  the  insti 
tution  of  slavery.  This  would  be  a  difficult  matter  to 
decide.  The  events  which  preceded  the  general  and 
scourging  inquisition  lately  gone  through  with,  together 
with  the  simultaneous  and  visible  impudence  of  the  free 
colored  race,  are  certain  indications  of  a  disturbed  state 
of  mind  in  at  least  some  sections  of  the  country.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  indictments  followed  up  by  different 
fiscals,  and  the  use  of  the  torture  without  obtaining 


92  CUBA    AND 


satisfactory  evidence  to  dispel  all  manner  of  doubt  as 
to  the  existence  of  a  plot,  speak  against  its  credibility. 
It  can  also  be  alleged  that  the  very  ignorance  of  the 
prosecutors,  and  the  irregularity  of  their  mode  of  pro 
cedure,  were  calculated  to  hinder  the  discovery  of  a 
plot,  without  deciding  that  it  had  positively  no  founda 
tion.  It  is  more  likely  that  the  conspiracy  was  in  its 
infancy  ;  and  that  when  the  avenging  storm  which  swept 
over  the  land  was  heard  from  afar,  it  increased  the 
number  of  the  discontented,  who,  through  despair,  pre 
pared  for  some  last  acts  of  devastation  and  blood. 
There  is  one  painful  reflection,  which  fixes  itself  upon 
the  considerate  observer  of  events.  While  foreigners, 
after  long  delay,  obtained  a  hearing  of  their  cases,  and 
after  being  paraded  through  the  country,  tied  hand-and- 
foot  on  horseback,  and  kept  in  a  filthy  dungeon,  were  de 
clared  innocent,  the  white  Creoles,  who  had  been  im 
prisoned  with  equal  injustice,  remained  still  incarcer 
ated,  and  their  cases  undecided,  because  they  had  no 
consul  to  claim  for  them  the  rights  of  civilized  man ! 


THE    CUBANS.  98 


CHAPTER  III. 

Geographical  Situation  of  Cuba. — Its  Beauty  and  Fertility. — Differ 
ent  Names  of  the  Island  in  illustration. — Notice  of  "  Notes  on  Cuba, 
by  a  Physician." — Trip  to  Guines. — Beautiful  Farms. — Hedges  of 
Aloes. — Plantain  Fields. — Sugar  and  Coffee  Estates. — Tropical 
Trees. — Singular  way  of  distributing  Milk. — Life  in  Guines. — 
The  Valley  of  the  Yumuri. — The  Bay  of  Matanzas.— The  Ceiba 
and  Jaguey-marcho. — Subterraneous  River. — Robbers. — Storm  in 
the  Rainy  Season. — Errors  in  the  "  Notes  on  Cuba." — The  Au 
thor's  ludicrous  Mistakes. — False  Notions  of  Slavery. — Oppressive 
Acts  of  the  Officers  of  the  Law. — Bad  Influence  of  the  Slave-Trade 
Party. 

IN  the  two  preceding  chapters  have  been  given  a  short 
historical  and  political  sketch  of  Cuba,  in  which  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  island  is  at  present  in  a  most 
degraded  and  oppressed  condition,  and  apparently 
without  prospect  of  any  favorable  change  on  the  part 
of  its  rulers.  Before  going  into  a  detail  of  the  wrongs 
which  Cuba  now  endures,  and  the  grievances  of  which 
her  inhabitants  complain,  and  before  considering  her 
present  position  with  Spain,  and  her  prospects  for  the 
future,  it  is  advisable  to  give  some  idea  of  the  island 
itself,  and  the  character — social  and  domestic — of  its 
inhabitants. 

Cuba  is  about  780  miles  in  length  by  52  in  mean 
breadth,  and  has  a  superficial  area  of  43,500  square 
miles,  being  nearly  equal  in  extent  to  all  the  other  isl 
ands  taken  together.  It  is  traversed  throughout  its 
whole  extent  by  chains  of  mountains,  whose  highest 
peaks,  Potullo  and  Cobre,  attain  an  elevation  of  more 
than  8500  feet ;  and  the  plains  beneath  are  copiously 
watered,  and  rendered  fit  for  producing  in  the  highest 
perfection  all  the  objects  of  tropical  culture.  The  cli 
mate,  particularly  in  the  western  part,  although  trop- 


94      *  CUBA    AND 

ical,  is  marked  by  an  unequal  distribution  of  heat  at 
different  seasons,  indicating  a  transition  to  the  tem 
perate  zone.  The  mean  temperature  is  TO0,  but  in 
the  interior  and  eastern  part  73°.  The  hottest  months 
do  not  average  more  than  84°-85°,  and  the  coldest 
present  a  mean  temperature  of  about  TO0.  Ice  some 
times  forms  at  night  after  a  long  continuance  of  the 
northers,  but  snow  never  falls.  Hurricanes  are  of 
much  less  frequent  occurrence  than  in  the  other  isl 
ands.  /  The  situation  of  Cuba,  commanding  the  en 
trance  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  communication 
between  North  and  South  America,  gives  it  a  high 
commercial  and  political  importance.  Indeed,  such 
designations  as,  "  The  Queen  of  the  Antilles,"  "  The 
Key  of  the  Gulf,"  "  The  Sentinel  of  the  Mississippi," 
"  The  Beautiful  Antille,"  "  The  Gem  of  the  Ameri 
can  Seas,"  indiscriminately  bestowed  upon  this  en 
chanting  island,  are  sufficiently  significant  of  its  advan 
tageous  commercial  position,  and  its  remarkable  natu 
ral  beauty  and  fertility. 

A  work  published  some  four  or  five  years  since,  en 
titled  "  Notes  on  Cuba,  by  a  Physician,"  contains  such 
correct  descriptions  of  the  country,  and  such  faithful 
delineations  of  the  landscape  and  the  several  phenom 
ena  of  nature,  while  in  other  respects  it  abounds  with 
mistakes,  that  it  is  thought  best  to  make  some  use  of 
its  contents  in  this  work,  both  to  afford  very  interest 
ing  descriptions  of  the  island,  and  to  point  out  the 
errors  of  the  author  in  more  important  points. 

The  following  is  from  the  account  of  his  trip  to 
Guines,  on  the  railroad  : 

"  We  were  thus  carried  by  well-stocked  farms,  sur 
rounded  by  hedges  of  aloes,  their  dagger-pointed  and 
stiff  long  leaves  closely  interlaced,  bidding  defiance  to 
either  ingress  or  egress,  while  from  the  centre  of  these 
clustered  lances,  erect  flowering  stems,  with  twined 
branchlets  and  cup-like  blossoms,  raised  their  candela 
bra  forms  a  score  of  feet  high,  in  their  primness  look- 


THE    CUBANS.  JO 

ing  more  like  the  work  of  art  than  nature.  Then 
came  the  square -trimmed  lime  hedge,  with  its  small 
clusters  of  white  flowers  yielding  their  perfume  to  the 
air,  equally  impenetrable  to  man  or  beast ;  and  next 
long  lines  of  uncemented  stone  fences,  built  of  the  jag 
ged  honey-comb  coral  rock  that  abounds  throughout  the 
country.  These  often  inclosed  whole  acres  of  luscious 
fragrant  pines,  each  sustained  by  a  short  footstalk 
above  the  circle  of  thorny  leaves  compassing  the  plants 
that  were  spread  low  over  the  ground  ;  some  were  still 
small  and  blue  with  the  half-withered  flowerets  that 
blossom  all  over  the  fruit ;  others  were  ripe,  large,  and 
of  a  golden  hue,  while  a  few  of  the  hardier  kind,  but 
less  esteemed,  were  of  a  reddish  green  tint. 

"  Now  we  passed  by  fields  of  plantains  growing 
thickly  together,  bearing  above  their  frail  trunks  heavy 
bunches  of  green  fruit,  with  their  terminating  cones  of 
unfructified  flowers,  their  long,  tender  fan-like  leaves, 
torn  in  shreds  by  the  winds  and  drooping  around,  rag 
ged  and  bruised,  giving  them  the  appearance  of  a  crowd 
of  slatterns  in  dishabille.  Surrounding  us  on  every 
side,  many  other  valued  treasures  of  our  hot-houses 
springing  from  the  rich  soil,  arrested  the  attention  by 
their  foliage,  or  flowers  not  wearing  moreover  the 
sickly  look  of  pampered  care,  but  fresh  and  vigorous, 
tended  by  nature's  skillful  hand. 

u  But  the  trees  of  the  tropics  alone  are  an  inex 
haustible  source  of  admiration  and  wonder  to  the 
stranger.  We  were  soon  beyond  the  immediate  neigh 
borhood  of  the  city  (Havana),  its  gardens,  its  farms 
and  its  hamlets  ;  and  their  places  were  supplied  by 
extensive  sugar  and  coffee  estates,  with  their  large 
potreros  and  woodlands.  Here  the  royal  palm,  queen 
of  the  forest,  met  the  eye  on  every  side.  Sometimes 
isolated  and  irregularly  scattered  over  fields  of  sugar 
cane  with  their  tall  straight  trunks  and  their  tufted 
crowns  of  long,  branch-like  fringed  leaves,  waving  and 
trembling  in  every  breeze.*  and  glistening  in  the  rays 


96  CUBA    AND 

of  the  sun,  they  stood  like  so  many  guardian  spirits  of 
the  land  keeping  watch  over  the  rich  verdure,  stretch 
ing  far  in  the  distance  beneath  them.  Now  in  long 
avenues  of  turned  Corinthian  columns,  their  long 
leaves,  reaching  across  and  intermingling,  forming  one 
continuous  high-sprung  arch,  and  their  trunks  glossed 
with  white  lichen  as  with  paint,  they  led  the  eye  to  the 
country  mansion  of  the  planter  with  its  cool  verandahs 
and  its  back-ground  of  neatly-thatched  negro-houses, 
while  in  the  adjoining  potreros  large  clumps  of  them 
sheltered  with  their  shade  the  cattle  grazing  peacefully 
at  their  feet." 

And  again  when  in  Guines  :  "  Slowly  promenading 
under  the  porches  of  the  houses,  I  could  not  refrain 
from  occasionally  peeping  into  the  parlors  and  cham 
bers  as  I  passed  their  large  iron-grated  windows.  But 
the  inmates  were  all  up,  and  although  now  and  then  a 
fair  senora  might  be  seen  in  dishabille,  the  whole 
household  was  generally  engaged  in  the  duties  of  the 
day,  for  the  Creole  is  always  an  early  riser.  Several 
were  engaged  in  sweeping  the  pavements  ;  others  were 
clustered  around  the  milkman's  COWT,  which  had  been 
brought  to  their  doors,  and  were  waiting  their  turn  to 
have  their  pitchers  filled  from  the  slow  stream ;  while 
a  calf  tied  just  without  tasting  distance  looked  pite- 
ously  on,  and  at  times  showed  signs  of  impatience,  as 
he  saw  his  morning  meal  borne  off.  When  all  had 
been  supplied  he  was  muzzled,  and  his  halter  tied  to 
the  extremity  of  the  cow's  tail.  One  rush  to  the  bag 
was  tried  but  the  cruel  netting  frustrated  all  attempts 
to  taste  the  bland  fluid,  and  the  poor  animal  quietly 
followed  in  the  rear  as  the  man  drove  his  cow  to  the 
houses  of  his  other  customers. 

"  At  other  doors  the  malojero  was  counting  out  his 
small  bundles  of  green  fodder,  each  containing  a  dozen 
stalks  of  Indian  corn,  with  the  leaves  and  tassels  at 
tached,  the  common  daily  food  of  the  horse.  On  their 
pack-horses  were  bundles  of  small-sized  sugar-cane, 


THE    CUBANS.  97 

neatly  trimmed  and  cut  into  short  pieces,  and  selected 
small  on  account  of  their  superior  richness,  offering  to 
the  Creole  a  grateful  refreshment  during  the  heat  of  the 
noon.  Others  carried  large  matted  panniers  slung  over 
their  clumsy  straw  saddles,  filled  with  fine  ripe  oranges, 
the  favorite  and  healthy  morning  repast  of  the  native 
and  the  stranger,  the  well  and  the  invalid.  As  the 
day  progressed,  mounted  monteros  were  seen  galloping 
through  the  streets,  just  arrived  from  their  farms  ;  each 
with  his  loose  shirt  worn  over  his  pantaloons,  its  tail 
fluttering  in  the  breeze,  while  his  long  sword,  lashed  to 
his  waist  by  a  handkerchief,  dangled  at  his  back.  Then 
there  was  the  heavy  cart  laden  with  sugar,  for  the  rail 
road  depot,  drawn  by  eight  strong  oxen,  the  front  pair 
some  twenty  feet  in  advance  of  the  rest,  its  freight  of 
boxes  bound  down  firmly  with  cords,  and  covered  with 
raw  hides.  By  its  side  the  driver  stalked,  dressed  in 
a  loose  shirt  and  trowsers,  which  once  may  have  been 
white,  but  now  closely  resembled  the  soil  in  their  hue, 
and  a  high-peaked  straw  hat.  with  a  wide  rim,  on  his 
head.  He  held  in  his  hand  a  long  pole,  armed  with  a 
goad,  with  which  he  urged  forward  his  slow-moving 
team,  often  striking  the  sharp  nail  at  its  extremity  re 
peatedly  into  the  flank  of  an  ox,  until  the  poor  animal, 
in  his  endeavors  to  escape,  seemed  to  drag  the  whole 
load  by  his  sole  strength.  Other  carts  were  returning 
to  their  distant  sugar  estates,  laden  with  planks  cut 
into  proper  sizes  and  fastened  in  packages,  each  con 
taining  all  the  sides  to  make  a  sugar  box ;  thus  put  up 
by  our  ingenious  northern  friends  for  the  Cuba  market. 
"  The  arriero  with  his  pack-horses,  eight  or  a  dozen 
in  number,  was  also  urging  them  on  by  his  voice  and 
the  occasional  crack  of  his  whip,  while  they  staggered 
under  their  heavy  loads  of  charcoal,  kegs  of  molasses, 
or  aguardiente  (rum),  and  the  halter  of  each  being  tied 
to  the  extremity  of  the  tail  of  the  horse  before,  moved 
in  single  files,  carefully  picking  their  way.  Suddenly 
one  of  the  hindmost  would  stop  to  survey  the  path, 
5 


yo  CUBA    AND 

when  there  would  be  such  a  general  stretching  of  tails 
that  bid  fair  to  leave  some  of  them  in  the  state  of  Tarn 
O'Shanter's  mare  after  her  hard-won  race.  The  whip 
of  the  arriero  would,  however,  soon  remove  the  diffi 
culty,  and  the  long  line  would  again  move  forward." 

The  pictures  of  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  Guines  ; 
the  negro  pranks  on  Twelfth-day,  and  their  dances  ; 
the  cock-pit  and  cock-fighting  ;  the  madruga  baths  and 
scenery ;  and  above  all,  the  detailed  accounts  of  the 
Carlota  coffee  estate,  are  accurate,  and  leave  true  and 
vivid  impressions. 

"  There  are  several  beautiful  drives  near  Matanzas," 
says  the  author ;  "  but  those  which  no  stranger  should 
neglect  are  that  to  the  Cumbre,  the  ridge  of  the  high 
hill  rising  north  of  the  city,  and  that  to  the  valley  of 
the  Yumuri,  which  it  separates  from  the  sea.  Accom 
panied  by  a  friend  at  whose  house  I  was  staying,  I  left 
the  city  in  a  volante  before  sunrise,  and  following  a 
road  of  the  roughest  kind,  which,  passing  behind  the 
handsome  barracks  and  the  airy,  large  hospital  situated 
on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  wound  up  its  steep  acclivity,  I 
gained  the  narrow  ridge  of  the  Cumbre.  Here,  as  1 
walked  along  the  level  road,  I  knew  not  on  which  side 
to  fix  my  eye,  so  beautiful  were  the  landscapes  that 
surrounded  me.  Seaward,  the  widely- extended  ocean, 
with  numerous  vessels  on  its  great  highway,  the  Gulf 
Stream,  and  more  than  thirty  miles  of  the  shores  were 
included  in  a  single  view.  Then  there  was  the  long, 
broad  bay  of  Matanzas,  dwindled  in  size,  and  looking 
like  a  majestic  river  with  its  fleet  of  vessels  riding  at 
anchor,  and  the  city  a.t  its  head  covering  the  level  plain 
and  creeping  up  the  hill  beyond  it.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  ridge,  far  down  below  our  very  feet,  lay  the 
lovely  valley  of  the  Yumuri,  with  its  grounds  now- 
broken  into  sharp  peaks,  now  gently  undulating ;  its 
cane-fields,  with  their  pea-green  verdure,  and  the  dark 
green  foliage  of  the  tall  palms  scattered  irregularly  over 
them ;  its  orange  groves  and  luxuriant  plantations  with 


THE    CUBANS.  99 

broad  waving  leaves  ;  its  cocoas,  its  almonds,  and  its 
coffee,  with  here  and  there  a  gigantic  ceiba  spreading 
out  its  massive  arms  high  in  air.  As  the  mist,  which 
in  different  parts  hung  over  the  scene,  rose  in  fleecy 
masses,  or  gradually  dissolved  in  the  increasing  heat  of 
day,  and  farm  after  farm,  and  cottage  after  cottage,  be 
came  lit  by  the  bright  sun's  rays,  throwing  into  bold 
relief  the  illuminated  portions,  while  the  rest  still  lay 
in  the  deep  shade  of  the  Cumbre,  a  landscape  was  pre 
sented  that  I  had  never  seen  rivaled  even  amid  the 
picturesque  scenery  of  Switzerland. 

"  The  valley  is  very  small,  which,  indeed,  adds  to 
its  beauty,  and  is  so  completely  hemmed  in  on  every 
side  by  high  precipices,  that  it  seems  entirely  cut  off 
from  the  rest  of  the  world  ;  while  the  oriental  and  quiet 
air  it  presents  is  in  strong  contrast  with  the  busy  city 
just  by  it,  and  the  long  extent  of  mountainous  region 
stretching  far  in  the  distance  beyond.  At  the  foot  of 
the  height  on  which  I  stood,  a  small  cottage  was 
perched,  on  the  very  summit  of  a  small  conical  hill, 
and  with  all  the  appurtenances  of  a  farm-yard,  lay  like 
a  picture  below  me  ;  the  objects  were  much  diminished 
in  size,  but  the  crowing  of  the  cock  and  the  bleating  of 
the  kids  came  distinctly  on  the  ear,  and  heightened  the 
interest  of  the  scene.  The  whole  formed  a  lovely,  se 
cluded  nook,  and  one  could  not  refrain  from  envy  of  the 
happy  lot  of  the  montero  whose  home  it  was.  But  the 
heart  was  pained  on  recurring  to  the  past  history  of  the 
vale ;  and  while  fancy  sketched  the  scenes  of  murder 
and  carnage  which  this  place  had  witnessed,  of  its  once 
peaceful  people,  it  seemed  well  that  the  name  of  the 
neighboring  city  should  be  so  significant  of  the  event. 
It  was  here  that,  in  1511,  numbers  of  the  aborigines 
were  cruelly  massacred  by  the  Spaniards,  and  the  rem 
nant,  driven  by  bloodhounds  to  the  surrounding  heights, 
were  forced  in  despair  to  throw  themselves  over  their 
brinks  into  the  river  below,  crying  out  '  Yo  moir,'  I 
die ;  whence  the  name  of  the  vale  and  river. 


100  CUBA    AND 

"  On  the  ridge  were  several  private  residences,  into 
one  of  which  we  were  invited  by  its  owner,  who  gave 
us  that  scarce  article  on  a  Cuba  farm,  a  glass  of  fresh 
milk.  In  our  descent  to  the  city,  several  varied  and 
beautiful  views  of  it,  and  of  the  harbor  and  shipping, 
were  presented ;  and  when  we  reached  the  base  of  the 
hill,  a  short  but  rapid  drive  brought  us  into  the  gap, 
through  which  the  Yumuri  escapes  from  the  valley. 
High  precipices  rose  on  each  side,  their  summits 
crowned  with  a  luxuriant  growth,  while,  from  the  over 
hanging  walls  of  the  southern  side,  immense  stalactites 
of  various  lines  hung  in  irregular  and  grand  festoons, 
amid  which  the  entrance  to  a  large  cave  was  plainly 
visible.  At  its  base  the  little  river  had  expanded  into 
a  placid  miniature  lake,  and  beyond,  through  the  cleft 
mountain,  was  seen  the  vale  itself." 

The  following  is  a  very  picturesque  description  of  the 
ceiba  and  the  jaguey :  u  Soon  after  entering  a  coffee 
estate,  I  passed  by  one  of  those  giants  of  a  tropical 
forest,  a  powerful  ceiba,  with  its  large,  tall  trunk  fixed 
to  the  soil  by  huge  braces  projecting  from  it  in  different 
directions,  and  rising  branchless  and  erect  sixty  feet, 
where  it  threw  out  immense  horizontal  arms  of  massive 
timber.  The  extremities  of  these  only  were  subdivided 
into  branches  and  twigs,  which,  covered  by  foliage, 
formed  an  umbrella-shaped  canopy  over  the  whole. 
But  although  themselves  free  from  leaves,  these  stout 
arms  supported  on  their  broad  surfaces  a  luxuriant  gar 
den  of  air-plants.  There  were  the  wild-pines  in  close 
set  hedges,  with  gutter-shaped  leaves  and  cup-like  cav 
ities  filled  with  the  condensed  dews  of  night,  serving  as 
cisterns  for  the  winged  tribes  during  the  long  drought 
of  winter.  Other  species  in  branches  of  strings  hung 
pendent,  or  in  fan-like  shapes  spread  close  to  their  fos 
ter-parent  ;  while  some,  as  the  night-blooming  ceres, 
with  hairy  coats,  like  long  creeping  insects,  clung  to 
the  sides  and  under  surfaces  of  the  branches,  or  wound 
around  the  trunk  itself.  Nor  was  this  garden  devoid 


of  beauty.     A  partial  glimpse  could  here  and  there  be 
had  of  flowers  of  the  brightest  sea/ 
brown,  and  of  a  delicat<  ng  vain  longii 

thr;   b<  ,-LoH<  -r  to  explore  their  aerial  beds.     N</ 
from  this  tree  was  another  as  large,  inclo- 
deadly  embraces  of  the  jaguey-marcho  ;  it  was  a  mor 
tal  struggle  for  mastery  between  the  two  giant*  ; 
bow  powerful  soever  had  been  the  ceiba,  it  was  ev. 
from  the  size  of  the  other,  the  multiplied  folds  of  its 
arms  around  the  trunk  of  its  foster-parent,  and  its 
luxuriant  branches  and  foliage  already  overtopping  it, 
that  the  victory  would  soon  belong  to  die  parasite. 
Near  was  a  jaguey-marcho  standing  alone  ;  the  death 
of  its  victim  had  long  been  effected  ;  and  it  pompously 
raised  its  distorted  trunk,  and  spread  its  irregular  fo 
liage,  where  once  before  its  noble-looking  parent  had 
stood  in  all  its  beauty." 

The  writer  should  have  mentioned  that  the  poets  of 
Cuba  have  adopted  the  jagney  as  the  emblem  of  in 
gratitude.  Equally  true  is  the  following:  "  I  had  now 

ined  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  commenced  ascendi 


ite  winding  path  amid  irregular  masses  of 
rock,  of  which  the  whole  range  seemed  composed,  and 
which,  from  the  sharp  points  it  presents  over  its  whole 
surface,  has  received  the  very  significant  name  of  *  dog's 
teeth.'  It  was  every  where  perforated  by  round  holes 
of  various  sizes,  traversing  in  every  direction,  the  whole 
looking  like  some  thick  paste  that  had  been  suddenly 
petrified  while  in  a  state  of  violent  ebullition.  Here 
the  ingenious  Liebig  could  see  bis  theory  verified  in  for 
ests  of  heavy  timber  springing  from  beds  of  barren 
lock,  their  roots  penetrating  into  the  holes  and  fis 
sures,  fixing  the  trunk  firmly  to  die  earth  ;  while  on 
the  soilless  bed  rank  air-plante,  covered  with  their  in 
terlaced  roots  the  petreous  surface,  or  in  clumps  sus 
pended  in  the  air,  clung  to  every  tree. 

"  The  foliage  above  was  00  thick  that  the  rays  of  die 
I  fpn  penetrated  only  here  and  there  through  die  almost 


102  CUBA    AND 

twilight-shade  that  shed  a  softness  on  all  below,  where 
the  dews  of  night  hung  in  pearly  drops  on  every  leaf. 
Nothing  could  exceed  the  air  of  solitude  reigning 
throughout  this  primeval  forest.  Scarcely  a  bird  was 
seen  amid  its  foliage,  or  a  sound  heard,  save  the  faint 
murmur  of  the  east  wind  through  the  thick  canopy  over 
head,  and  the  boring  of  the  worm  penetrating  the  fallen 
timber.  Even  the  solitary  whistle  of  the  small  day- 
owl,  and  the  occasional  and  distant  clacking  of  the  ar- 
riero,  tended  only  to  increase  the  sense  of  loneliness. 
It  is  in  forests  like  this  that  the  hutia  loves  to  dwell, 
the  wild-cat  to  hide  her  young,  and  the  wild-dog  to 
build  his  lair.  Amid  its  deep  recesses  the  runaway 
negro  also  seeks  a  home  in  some  secret  cave,  spending 
his  days  in  sleep  and  his  nights  in  prowling  about  the 
borders  of  the  neighboring  estates." 

"  The  Creole,"  the  author  remarks  in  another  part 
of  his  work,  alluding  to  the  countrymen  "  or  monteros, 
is  a  finished  orator,  graceful  in  his  actions  and  in  his 
expressions.  While  talking,  his  whole  frame  is  in  mo 
tion  ;  and  one  ignorant  of  the  Spanish,  could  almost 
guess  the  drift  of  the  conversation  by  his  pantomime. 
I  once  listened  to  a  most  graphic  description  of  William 
Tell's  shooting  the  apple  off  his  son's  head  by  a  mago- 
ral  (overseer)  of  a  sugar  estate.  In  one  of  my  excur 
sions  I  dined  at  the  same  table  with  him,  and  had  been 
relating  some  anecdotes  of  courage,  when  he  in  his  turn 
told  that  story.  He  was  seated  when  he  commenced, 
but  warming  with  the  subject,  he  arose  from  his  chair, 
and,  as  the  story  proceeded,  presented  in  succession  the 
anxious  crowd  of  spectators,  the  patient,  unconscious 
child,  the  firm  father,  and  the  stern  tyrant,  in  tableaux 
vivants  that  I  had  never  seen  excelled.  At  the  mo 
ment  when  he  had  shot  the  arrow,  and  placed  his  hand 
on  the  other,  ready  to  send  it  to  the  heart  of  the  tyrant 
if  the  first  pierced  his  son,  the  intense  agony  of  the 
father,  more  intense  because  half-subdued  and  mingled 
with  his  deadly  resolve,  was  so  well  depicted,  that  I 


103 

gazed  with  unfeigned  astonishment  at  the  actor,  when 
the  cries  of  the  crowd,  joyful  at  his  success,  burst  from 
them.  Then  came  the  daring  response  to  the  tyrant, 
that  the  second  shaft  was  for  his  own  heart,  at  which 
point  his  story  closed,  and  I  was  revolving  in  my  mind 
how  a  stranger  to  liberal  institutions  could  depict  the 
indomitable  spirit  of  liberty  dwelling  in  the  bosom  of 
the  Swiss,  when  he  said  that  all  this  happened  to  an 
Indian  and  his  king  in  Mexico." 

The  description  of  the  subterrariec  is  river  in  the 
village  of  San  Antonio  is  worthy  of  perusal :  "  On 
reaching  the  spot,  I  found  the  deep  ravine,  leading 
into  the  cave,  dry  ;  but  the  river  which  in  the  winter 
season  disappears  close  by  the  town,  would  be  heard 
rushing  in  its  underground  course  near  the  opening. 
The  ceiba,  nearly  a  hundred  feet  high,  rested  the  base 
of  its  immense  trunk  on  the  very  edge  of  the  rock 
overhanging  the  entrance  ;  the  huge  braces  common  to 
this  tree  projecting  a  score  of  feet  from  it  on  the  land, 
and  firmly  fixing  it  to  the  soil.  It  stood  like  some 
giant  guard  over  the  yawning  cavern  below,  which 
seemed  well  suited  to  be  the  fabled  residence  of  the 
terrible  Ceme,  worshiped  by  the  Cuban  Indian.  The 
moon-beams  lit  up  every  object  without,  making  the 
dark  cavern  still  more  dreary ;  numerous  tree-frogs 
were  piping  their  bird-like  notes  from  the  bushes  cov 
ering  the  sides  of  the  ravine,  and  bats  were  flitting 
down  into  it,  while  ever  and  anon  a  large  wild  owl 
swept  across  the  chasm,  hastily  beating  the  bushes  on 
its  margin,  and  emitting  his  grinding  cries.  The 
whole  spot  was  extremely  picturesque  ;  but  one  could 
not  help  fancying  the  stream,  when  swollen  by  the 
rains,  thundering  down  into  the  wide  mouth  of  this 
cave,  and  carrying  with  it  whatever  it  bore  throughout 
its  subterranean  course,  depositing  bones  of  animals, 
perhaps  of  men,  of  birds,  reptiles,  and  land  shells  ;  and 
at  its  submarine  outlet,  ejecting  some  amid  those  of 
the  finny  tribes  of  the  ocean  and  its  shells ;  and  when 


104  CUBA    AND 

these  shall  have  been  upraised  by  the  heaving  earth 
quake,  puzzling  the  future  geologist  by  the  incongru 
ous  mingling.  The  river  is  again  seen  deep  down, 
through  an  opening  in  the  rook  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  cavern,  and  pieces  of  wood  thrown  into  the 
stream  have  appeared  on  the  coast  several  leagues  dis 
tant." 

As  a  specimen  of  the  once  distracted  state  of  the 
country,  the  "  Notes  on  Cuba"  contain  the  following 
story :  "  The  short  road  of  six  miles  between  this 
place  (Havana)  and  Regla,  now  so  safe,  was  during 
the  days  of  piracy  much  infested  by  robbers,  bands  of 
whom  then  roamed  with  impunity  fhrough  all  the  sur 
rounding  country.  A  smart  little  Frenchman,  who 
practiced  the  healing  art  in  this  city,  was  one  night 
waited  on  by  one  of  them,  with  a  command  to  accom 
pany  him  to  a  wounded  man.  Fearing  the  result  of 
a  refusal,  he  mounted  a  horse  that  the  robber  had 
brought  with  him,  and  rode  some  distance  from  the 
city  under  his  guidance,  when  the  two  were  suddenly 
surrounded  by  a  band  of  armed  men.  The  doctor  now 
repented  of  his  journey ;  nor  were  his  fears  lessened 
on  their  blindfolding  him  and  leading  him  off  on  foot, 
although  they  assured  him  that  no  harm  should  come 
to  him.  After  a  long  walk  they  reached  a  hut,  where, 
the  bandage  having  been  removed  from  his  eyes,  he 
beheld  a  strongly-built  man  covered  with  wounds  and 
exhausted  by  loss  of  blood.  He  was  told  to  attend  on 
him  ;  and  having  dressed  his  wounds,  and  informed 
them  that  they  were  not  necessarily  fatal,  his  eyes 
were  again  blindfolded,  and  he  was  given  in  charge  of 
his  guide ;  a  double  handful  of  doubloons  having  been 
first  offered  to  him  as  a  fee,  which  he  positively  de 
clined  accepting.  He  was  conducted  safely  home,  and 
on  the  days  appointed  for  his  future  visits  the  man 
and  horse  were  found  each  night  at  his  door.  His 
patient  got  well,  but  the  doctor  would  accept  of  no 
pecuniary  recompense.  In  several  of  his  rides  after- 


THE    CUBANS.  105 

ward  he  was  stopped  on  the  road,  but  on  being  recog 
nized  was  not  molested  ;  and  on  some  occasions  he  was 
even  accompanied  by  some  of  his  robber  friends  to  his 
home,  when  other  bands,  who  did  not  know  his  worth, 
were  prowling  about  the  place." 

The  next  extract  is  a  picture  of  the  daily  storm  dur 
ing  the  rainy  season  :  "  For  several  consecutive  days 
was  the  whole  canopy  of  the  heavens  each  noon  hid  by 
the  heavy  masses  of  clouds  rapidly  formed  on  the  hori 
zon,  and  over  head  presenting  in  their  storm-like  ap 
pearance  a  strong  contrast  by  the  clear  blue  of  the 
noon's  unclouded  sky.  About  two  o'clock  began  the 
gathering  to  one  broad  focus  :  and  the  black  thunder 
cloud,  condensing  in  its  frigid  bosom  the  ascending 
vapors,  and  blending  with  its  own  immense  mass  the 
smaller  ones  in  its  course,  with  gathered  and  still  in 
creasing  power,  rose  majestically  against  the  opposing 
verge  ;  its  jagged  edges  apparently  resting  on  the  hills, 
and  its  pendent  centre  threatening  destruction  to  all 
beneath.  Then  came  the  deep  calm ;  and  each  leaf 
was  motionless,  while  the  scuds  above  rushed  madly 
together,  and  curled  and  intermingled  as  if  in  fierce 
contest.  And  now  the  sudden  blast  burst  through  the 
still  air,  and  the  stout  tree  groaned,  and  the  tender 
plant  lay  prostrate  beneath  its  power.  The  long,  pli 
ant  leaves  of  the  tall  palm,  like  streamers,  fluttered  in 
the  rushing  wind ;  the  frail  plantain's  broad,  tender 
foliage  was  lashed  into  shreds  ;  the  umbrageous  alleys 
of  mangoes  waved  their  long  lines  of  dense  verdure, 
and  all  nature  did  homage  to  the  storm-spirit ;  all  but 
the  powerful  ceiba,  whose  giant  trunk  bended  not,  and 
whose  massive  arms  and  close-set  foliage  defied  its 
utmost  wrath ;  amid  the  turmoil  it  stood  unmoved,  a 
perfect  picture  of  conscious  strength.  But  the  whole 
scene  was  soon  hid  by  the  torrents  of  rain  that  fell 
from  the  overcharged  clouds.  The  atmosphere  seemed 
converted  into  a  mass  of  rushing  wraters  ;  and  mingled 
with  its  rattling  gusts,  was  the  lengthened  crash  and 


106  CUBA    AND 

reverberating  roar  of  the  more  distant  thunder  and  the 
sharp  shot-like  report  of  that  close  by ;  while  vivid 
streams  and  broad  flashes  of  lightning  played  rapidly 
through  the  aqueous  shroud.  In  less  than  an  hour 
the  storm  had  passed  by,  but  fresh  masses  of  clouds 
rose  from  different  quarters,  and  their  circumscribed 
showers  often  fell  heavily  within  a  fewr  hundred  yards, 
while  near  by  not  a  drop  descended." 

Thus  was  the  rainy  season  ushered  in :  "In  the 
afternoon  the  clouds  separated  into  banks,  which  hung 
about  the  horizon ;  and  before  evening  the  sun  shone 
brightly  through  the  transparent  ether,  and  at  length 
sunk  into  a  gorgeously-colored  and  golden  bed.  A 
refreshing  coolness  pervaded  the  evening  calm  ;  the 
tolling  of  the  different  estate  bells  sounding  the  oracion, 
came  sweetly  on  the  ear  ;  and  when  the  shades  of  night 
set  in,  myriads  of  cocullos  left  their  hiding  places,  and 
darting  through  the  air,  lit  up  the  gloom  writh  a  thou 
sand  streams  of  lurid  light,  while  the  stars  shone  with 
a  brilliancy  not  surpassed  in  the  frigid  zone." 

And  now,  after  enjoying  these  animated  and  vivid 
sketches,  from  the  pencil  of  a  correct,  although  at 
times  a  careless  painter,  would  not  one  expect  a  simi 
lar  excellence  in  his  moral  pictures  ?  Would  not  one 
at  least  suppose  his  information  to  be  judiciously  ob 
tained  from  reliable  sources  1  It  has  always  been  sup 
posed  there  was  a  near  relation  between  a  clear  under 
standing  arid  an  artistical  talent.  It  would  seem 
natural  that  whoever  is  able  to  describe  the  beauties 
of  the  material  world,  must  feel  their  harmony,  and  by 
consequence,  possess  superior  intellectual  faculties. 
How  happens  it,  then,  that  the  author  of  the  "  Notes 
on  Cuba"  should  so  incessantly  err,  when  economical 
disquisitions  take  the  place  of  his  graphic  represent 
ations  of  the  external '"world  1  When  the  country's 
moral  condition  is  the  topic,  he  at  once  shows  himself 
to  be  badly  informed,  and  his  judgment  so  partially 
and  disparagingly  exercised,  that  he  constantly  contra- 


THE    CUBANS.  107 

diets  himself.  His  hasty  views  upon  the  gravest  sub 
jects  indicate  a  weak  intellect,  easily  led  astray,  even 
in  opposition  to  the  nobler  and  better  feelings  of  his 
nature.  Not  to  impute  to  the  author,  however,  any 
unworthy  motive,  as  the  cause  of  the  very  serious  and 
unaccountable  mistakes  in  his  work ;  for  the  ingenious 
acknowledgment  of  his  inconsistencies  at  the  close  of 
the  volume,  excludes  so  severe  an  inference.  It  is 
both  more  charitable  and  reasonable  to  find  their  true 
cause  in  that  inconsiderate  manner  of  pronouncing  on 
facts  imperfectly  known,  so  common  to  travelers,  who, 
not  wishing  to  appear  deficient  in  their  researches,  are 
prone  to  adopt  the  most  extravagant  statements  and 
opinions.  Giving  to  the  author's  case  the  kindest 
construction,  it  must  have  been  by  mere  chance,  and 
certainly  not  from  choice,  that  he  generally  happened 
to  be  thrown  into  company  not  the  most  select,  and  did 
not  sufficiently  test  his  opinions  by  inquiries  among 
the  better  and  more  enlightened  class  of  the  commu 
nity.  How  else  could  he  have  so  exaggerated  the  de 
votion  of  the  attendants  at  church,  compared  with  the 
observance  of  sacred  things  in  the  United  States  ?  How 
could  he  have  lavished  enthusiastic  praises  on  the  disor 
derly  habit  of  the  country  curates,  whose  vow  of  celibacy, 
voluntarily  given  only  as  a  means  of  obtaining  a  liveli 
hood,  is  perpetually  broken,  to  the  discredit  of  all  Chris 
tian  belief  1  The  priests  in  Cuba  are  not  respected ; 
on  the  contrary,  they  are  despised  ;  and  as  their  conduct 
belies  the  doctrines  they  have  sworn  to  propagate,  they  set 
themselves  quietly  down  to  enjoy  the  bodily  comforts  of 
this  life,  without  troubling  themselves  at  all  about  their 
own  or  their  flock's  spiritual  welfare.  The  supersti 
tious  credulity  and  faith  in  miracles  of  the  monteros, 
or  country  people,  is  another  of  the  subjects  on  which 
the  author  of  the  "  Notes  on  Cuba"  indulged  his 
fruitful  fancy.  Just  so  also  as  to  the  fact  that  the 
Bible  was  zealously  and  devoutly  studied.  Would  to 
God  it  were  so !  as  it  would  evidence  a  concern  for 


108  CUBA     AND 

a  future  state,  no  where  to  be  met  with  in  the  isl 
and.  The  tracts  distributed  with  impunity,  which  the 
physician  "  notes"  with  exceeding  pleasure,  will  cer 
tainly  not  excite  wonder,  when  the  reader  is  given  to 
understand  that  the  most  celebrated  works  against 
Christianity  are  publicly  and  unrestrictedly  sold 
throughout  the  country. 

How  far  it  can  be  said,  consistently  with  truth,  that 
the  learned  and  enlightened  Bishop  of  Havana  was  a 
perfect  Tacon,  let  any  inhabitant  of  the  island 
decide,  whatever  political  opinions  he  may  enter 
tain,  Their  actions  did  not  evince  any  similarity 
of  character;  and  it  was  reserved  for  the  author 
to  discover  it  in  men  who  always  created  very  dif 
ferent  impressions.  Bishop  Espada  and  General  Ta 
con,  in  times  far  removed  from  each  other,  owed  their 
nomination  to  the  liberal  party  of  Spain.  When  ab 
solute  sway  was  re-established  in  the  mother-country, 
the  former  continued  to  profess  liberal  views,  and 
made  successful  efforts  to  extend  the  sphere  of  learn 
ing  and  education.  The  latter  was  ever  active  in 
crushing  public  spirit,  in  organizing  a  military  govern 
ment,  and  ruining  public  institutions,  as  far  as  lay  in 
his  power.  The  former  was  persecuted  as  an  insur 
gent.  The  latter  persecuted  those  who  disapproved 
his  omnipotence,  and  charged  them  with  treason.  It 
was  of  this  same  man  that  the  author  of  the  "  Notes 
on  Cuba"  says,  "  he  was  a  noble  instance  of  the  power 
of  mind  over  brute  force,"  and  asserts  with  an  air  of 
triumph,  that  on  his  condemnation  "  he  referred  his 
judges  to  the  records  of  the  court  as  a  proof  of  his 
mild  administration."  The  records  of  the  tribunals 
under  his  control,  with  none  to  publish  the  most 
common  facts  without  his  approbation,  like  the  crim 
inal  statistics,  are  of  little  value.  But  the  several 
processes  against  the  objects  of  his  hatred  in  Spain 
and  Cuba,  wherein  his  real  character  is  revealed,  and 
the  sentence,  which  from  motives  of  policy  was  not 


THE    CUBANS.  109 

published  in  Havana  by  his  successor,  as  the  law  re 
quired,  might  illustrate  the  point.  "  Men  were  some 
times  taken  suddenly  from  the  midst  of  their  families, 
where  they  lived  in  fancied  security,"  (see  the  "  Notes 
on  Cuba,")  "  were  shown  the  indisputable  proofs  of 
their  guilt,  and  at  once  exiled  from  the  island,  as  inim 
ical  to  its  government."  What  manner  of  procedure 
is  this,  by  which  Tacon  was  enabled  to  obtain  proofs 
of  guilt,  and  to  sentence  the  accused  without  his  know 
ledge?  That  such  a  panegyric,  in  itself  revolting, 
should  be  volunteered  by  an  American  writer,  is  the 
only  apology  for  such  acts  on  the  part  of  those  who 
had  not,  like  himself,  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  free 
country.  So  intent  was  he  on  exalting  the  moral  re 
former,  as  he  is  pleased  to  term  him,  that  he  mentions 
Tacon's  macadamizing  the  streets  of  Havana,  and  can 
didly  avows  that  the  side-walks  were  buried  by  the 
structure,  so  that,  he  adds,  "  it  is  no  wonder  the  la 
dies  are  not  inclined  to  walk." 

It  is  amusing,  to  those  acquainted  with  the  habits 
and  customs  of  Cuba,  to  read  of  wonders  in  the  coun 
try  which  no  one  except  the  honest  doctor  has  had  the 
good  fortune  to  discover.  Young  ladies  visiting  bury- 
ing-grounds  to  enjoy  the  sight  of  a  funeral,  as  a  mut 
ter  of  amusement ;  Indian  agents,  monteros,  riding 
with  muskets,  or  taking  their  sweethearts  before  them 
on  the  same  saddle ;  a  sacristan,  or  sexton,  becoming 
a  prominent  character  through  his  knowledge  of  the 
law.  in  a  village  where  no  law  business  is  transacted  ; 
a  country  officer  of  justice  chanting  the  church  service 
at  his  wife's  funeral  ;  a  marquis  winning  and  exacting 
a  dollar  from  his  own  slave  at  a  cock-fight ;  another 
young  lady  riding  sixty  miles  on  horseback,  in  a  day, 
to  dance  all  the  evening ;  the  stare  of  women,  whose 
total  freedom  from  prudery  did  not  prevent  them  from 
throwing  a  furtive  glance  at  this  wandering  Esculapius, 
who  might  be  sadly  and  undigninedly  confounded  with 
the  "  barber-surgeon  practitioners"  of  the  land ;  the  eel- 


110  CUBA    AND 

ebrated  and  favorite  "  olla  podrida,"  a  dish  so  rare  and 
exquisite,  and  of  which  Spain  may  well  boast,  freely 
served  in  the  lunatic  asylum  of  Havana ;  and  o  ne  of 
the  patients  of  the  institution  handing  a  petition  to 
the  learned  traveler,  which  the  latter,  from  his  know 
ledge  of  the  Spanish  (of  which  there  are  abundant  spe 
cimens  in  his  book),  is  pleased  to  commend  for  its  pure 
Castilian.  Happily  though,  in  his  wanderings  through 
the  island  (which  by  the  way,  it  may  be  observed,  was 
made  to  widen  for  his  comfort),  he  was  not  very  diffi 
cult  to  please  :  he  was  tossed  about  in  rather  a  shabby 
accoutrement,  judging  from  the  horses  which  dragged 
him  along;  and  he  actually  began  to  relish  the  din 
ners  in  the  country  shops,  or  what  he  styles  Span 
ish  condiments.  Rather  than  do  violence  to  the  cus 
toms  of  the  land,  he  gayly  joined  in  a  drink  of  water 
with  a  porter ;  and  probably  from  the  same  motive, 
accepted  and  did  honor  to  the  delicate  morsels  fur 
nished  by  an  unknown  Creole,  a  fellow-passenger  on 
the  railroad  to  Guines,  who,  an  accident  having  de 
tained  the  cars,  generously  provided  him  and  others 
with  an  abundant  luncheon.  It  is  therefore  singular 
that  the  author  should  be  the  first  to  observe,  that  the 
Creole  was  not  only  economical,  but  parsimonious  to  an 
uncommon  degree.  "  The  Irishman,"  he  says,  "  will 
empty  his  purse  when  the  Creole  will  hesitate  to  spend 
a  medio." 

When  among  country  inn-keepers  of  the  lower  class 
of  Catalonians,  and  their  associates,  and  the  captains  of 
the  partido,  who,  according  to  his  own  account,  do  not 
wash  till  noon,  hearing  himself  called  a  Jew  (which, 
even  as  a  practical  joke,  is  no  sign  of  good-breeding), 
and  animated  by  practical  jokes  ^  it  is  no  wonder  that 
the  writer  should  have  formed  strange  notions,  and  ac 
quired  a  very  imperfect  knowledge  of  many  important 
facts.  He  is  made  to  understand  that  Guines  has  been 
increased  by  the  construction  of  the  railroad,  and  that 
foreigners  are  looked  upon  with  envy. 


THE    CUBANS.  Ill 

He  mistakes  some  of  the  above  described  class  for 
the  lofty  Castilian  hidalgo,  a  true  specimen  of  whom 
he  probably  never  met ;  and  the  unmeaning  look  of  ig 
norance  for  an  expression  of  contempt  of  the  Creoles. 
The  ward  of  Puebla  Nuevo,  in  the  city  of  Matanzas, 
which  has  been  stationary  for  many  years,  he  cites  as 
an  instance  of  rapid  advancement.  He  is  made  to  be 
lieve  in  the  existence  of  a  young  men's  debating  society, 
where  subjects  are  discussed  which  in  old  Spain  would 
not  be  named.  The  ludicrous  kings  of  the  negro  tribes, 
who  preside  at  their  dances,  he  imagines  to  be  engaged 
in  directing  their  moral  habits.  He  gives  a  glowing 
account  of  the  products  of  a  coffee  and  of  a  sugar-plan 
tation,  asserting  that  in  common  times  the  profits  of 
the  molasses  produced  on  the  la.tter  would  cover  its  cur 
rent  expenses.  Unacquainted  with  the  frauds  committed 
in  the  reports  manufactured  for  private  purposes,  and 
with  the  carelessness  with  which  the  statistics  of  the 
country  are  taken,  by  reason  of  the  indolence  or  inca 
pacity  of  the  agents,  he  wonders  at  the  marvelous  re 
sults  in  the  reports  of  mortality  on  the  estates,  and 
which  are  almost  sufficient  to  make  one  wish  himself  a 
slave. 

In  fact,  there  seems  to  lurk  about  the  author  of  the 
"  Notes"  a  decided  partiality  for  slavery,  an  evil  which, 
in  this  age,  is  lamented  even  by  those  whose  interest 
and  safety  require  them  to  uphold  it.  He  describes 
the  slave  as  gay  and  happy ;  enumerates  the  laws  in 
his  favor,  acknowledging  at  the  same  time  that  they  are 
not  enforced ;  attributes  this  mismanagement  to  the 
planters,  whom  he  knows  exert  no  influence  in  public 
enactments  ;  and  states  that  baptism  and  burial  is  all 
the  negro  receives  in  the  way  of  moral  and  religious 
government ;  still  maintaining  that  his  condition  is  bet 
ter  than  that  of  the  European  peasant  and  the  manu 
facturing  and  mining  class  of  England. 

The  author  of  the  "  Notes  on  Cuba,"  whose  opin 
ion  appears  vacillating,  says  that  the  slave  trade  is  a 


112  CUBA    AND 

source  of  wealth  to  the  island,  as  it  formerly  was  to 
Liverpool  and  Boston ;  that  only  two  thousand  blacks 
are  imported  annually ;  and  that  the  whole  country  is 
in  favor  of  its  continuation.  As  the  author  in  these 
particulars  seems  to  have  blindly  adopted  the  slave- 
dealers'  cant,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  show  the  gross 
delusion  under  which  he  labored.  That  Cuba  has  ac 
quired  her  vast  agricultural  importance  by  means  of 
imported  negroes,  is  an  undeniable  fact.  That  by  fol 
lowing  another  course,  she  would  have  attained  her 
present  extensive  though  precarious  production,  remains 
to  be  proved.  'To  insist,  however,  at  this  late  period, 
that  her  wealth  is  increased  by  the  traffic,  is  more  than 
absurd ;  it  is  absolutely  false.  It  is  well  known  that 
her  real  estate  is,  and  had  been  for  some  time  before 
the  "  Notes  on  Cuba"  were  written,  fast  declining  in 
price,  notwithstanding  his  report  of  its  high  value.  It 
is  also  well  known  that  the  continuation  of  the  slave 
trade  has  a  direct  tendency  to  jeopardize  every  kind  of 
property,  and  to  depreciate  more  especially  the  value 
of  slaves  in  the  island.  "It  is,  moreover,  a  most  per 
nicious  calumny  to  assert  that  the  country  is  in  favor 
of  its  continuation,  and  is  as  little  to  be  relied  on  as  his 
statement  of  the  number  of  the  imported,  which  he 
greatly  underrates.  Neither  ure  the  rich  and  enlight 
ened  planters,  who  see  the  fabric  of  their  fortunes  tot 
tering  before  them,  desirous  of  sustaining  it,  however 
the  voice  of  public  opinion  may  be  assumed  to  be  in 
favor  of  the  selfish  views  of  the  few.  An  estate  which 
eight  years  ago  might  be  sold  for  $100,000  would  not 
at  this  day  command  $25,000.  A  negro  who  could 
then  have  been  purchased  for  $500,  is  at  the  present 
time  to  be  had  for  $300.  What,  then,  can  be  the  sen 
timent  of  an  intelligent  community,  had  they  th%  means 
of  expressing  it  (which  the  author  of  the  "  Notes" 
grants  they  have  not),  other  than  in  opposition  to  an 
economical  and  political  error  fraught  with  incessant 
danger?  The  Cuban  planter  is  aware  that  while  a 


.       THE    CUBANS.  113 

stream  of  barbarians  continually  rushes  in  and  mingles 
with  their  more  civilized  brethren,  the  work  of  civiliza 
tion  must  be  much  obstructed,  and  that  a  restless  race 
will  ever  be  ready  to  second  the  machinations  of  wily 
plotters.  The  increase  of  the  race  by  marriage  is  not 
feasible,  and  the  warfare  of  the  abolitionists  will  be 
most  perseveringly  prosecuted.  They  will  not  be  de 
luded  by  the  pretended  humanity  of  the  trade,  such  as 
we  find  on  page  263  and  others.  The  conviction  of 
this  truth  has  driven  the  more  enlightened  class  from 
the  markets,  and  lessened  the  price  of  a  commodity, 
unfortunately  so  abundantly  profitable,  that  it  can  bear 
great  depression  in  price.  The  pretence  that  the  slave 
trade  betters  the  condition  of  the  bondmen,  by  rescuing 
them  from  the  hands  of  cruel  African  masters,  who  en 
slave  their  conquered  enemies,  is  an  argument  which 
the  author  was  taught  by  slave-dealers,  and  is  too  bare 
faced  to  receive  countenance  from  reflecting  men,  even 
in  Cuba.  If  there  were  no  purchasers  and  no  demand, 
the  object  of  making  prisoners  of  war  among  a  barba 
rous  people  would  be  removed.  Nay,  the  wars  them 
selves,  without  their  tempting  and  profitable  pecuniary 
results,  would  cease,  and  the  missionary  be  enabled  to 
proclaim  the  gospel  in  the  wilds  of  Africa. 

Had  the  learned  physician  consulted  the  more  re 
spectable  class  of  inhabitants,  whom  he  certainly  would 
not  meet  where  practical  jokes  are  allowed,  and  who, 
long  before  his  excursion  to  the  island,  had  presented 
petitions  to  government,  together  with  statements  of  the 
perilous  crisis  which  awaited  the  country,  he  never 
would  have  ventured  the  following  singular  prophecy  : 
"  Cuba  has  now  nothing  to  fear  from  her  slaves,  what 
ever  influence  her  increasing  free  colored  population 
may  hereafter  exercise  on  her  safety."  He  would  not 
have  been  forced  to  add  an  appendix,  even  before  the 
publication  of  his  work,  wherein  his  superficial  view  of 
the  most  serious  matters  is  clearly  exhibited.  So  un 
lucky  was  he,  that  he  presumed  to  foretell  that  the  free 


114  CUBA    AND 

blacks  would  in  any  movement  join  the  whites.  And 
it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  while  he  wrote,  the  ma 
chinations  of  the  free-colored  of  all  shades,  which  have 
since  come  to  light,  w^ere  actually  in  progress.  Had 
he  drank  at  purer  fountains,  his  blunders  would,  never 
theless,  have  been  amusing ;  among  which,  his  discov 
ery  of  two  represented  classes  is  not  the  least — a  ver 
itable  enigma.  For  it  would  be  impossible  to  name 
any  class  of  Cubans  which  is  represented  in  the  land. 

The  town  of  Cardenas  has  been  denied  direct  com 
merce  with  foreign  or  even  Spanish  European  ports. 
The  production  of  sugar  and  the  maintenance  of  all 
classes,  so  dependent  on  imports  for  most  articles,  were 
made  to  bear  the  additional  expenses  of  a  forced  coast 
ing  shipment,  because  the  administration  considered  it 
both  expensive  and  favorable  to  contraband.  The  au 
thor  of  the  "  Notes  on  Cuba,"  though  confessing  at 
times  the  absolute  nullity  of  the  inhabitants  as  to  all 
public  measures,  boldly  asserts,  in  relation  to  removing 
the  burdens  imposed  on  the  Cardenas  trade,  that  "  the 
merchants  of  Havana  and  Matanzas,  who  now  export 
all  its  produce,  have  as  yet  had  influence  to  defeat  ev 
ery  movement  for  that  object."  It  was  in  order  to  do 
away  the  alleged  objections  to  this  arrangement  that  the 
population  of  Cardenas  built  the  custom-house,  and  not 
as  an  evidence  of  their  readiness  to  pay  its  dues,  as  the 
author  would  have  it.  The  convenience  of  the  bay,  the 
distances  to  other  towns,  the  vision  of  the  drunken 
Irishman  charging  the  insurgents,  and,  in  fact,  all  the 
information  he  obtained  in  the  neighborhood  of  Carde 
nas,  may  be  classed  among  the  numberless  fancies  of 
his  book.  He  erroneously  estimates  the  duty  on  sales 
of  real  estate,  called  Alcabala,  at  $4,000,000,  and, 
perhaps  inconsiderately,  and  certainly  with  injustice, 
stigmatizes  all  the  predecessors  of  General  Valdez,  by 
asserting,  without  an  exception,  that  it  was  usual  for 
captain-generals  to  receive  a  doubloon  for  every  negro 
landed  in  Cuba,  On  the  other  hand,  he  draws  an  un- 


THE    CUBANS. 


115 


couth  picture  of  the  police,  as  much  at  variance  with 
itself  as  with  truth.  When  in  a  flattering  mood  he 
represents  it  as  so  active  arid  excellent,  that  if  it  had 
any  system,  or  were  any  thing  else  than  a  perpetual 
miracle,  and  could  be  described,  he  would  surely  pro 
pose  its  adoption  in  the  United  States. 

Let  the  work  speak  for  itself:  "  A  country  store  had 
been  broken  open,  and  two  or  three  men  had  been  eased 
of  their  purses  on  the  public  road.  The  whole  partido 
was  aroused  like  a  hive  of  bees  against  which  a  mis 
chievous  urchin  had  thrown  a  stone.  The  hitherto 
quiet  inhabitants  went  about  armed  to  the  teeth,  and 
there  was  great  danger  of  their  killing  each  other 
through  mistake.  The  captain  of  the  partido  mean 
while  was  not  idle.  Visiting  every  dwelling  in  his  ju 
risdiction,  he  compelled  those  who  could  not  give  a  good 
account  of  themselves,  and  had  not  domiciliary  pass 
ports,  to  quit  the  partido.  Others  on  whom  suspicion 
rested  he  sent  as  prisoners  to  Matanzas,  there  to  prove 
their  innocence  ;  a  mode  of  administering  justice  quite 
in  vogue  here,  but  which  would  depopulate  many  a 
section  in  other  countries,  and,  I  would  add,  that  must 
have  perfectly  satisfied  those  robbed  on  the  highway. 

"  These  petty  judges,"  he  adds,  with  great  truth, 
"  are  with  very  few  exceptions,  from  Spain,  a  Creole 
being  scarcely  ever  intrusted  with  the  office,  and  being 
without  salaries,  like  so  many  vultures  they  prey  upon 
the  unprotected  within  their  jurisdiction." 

Is  it  credible  that  it  is  of  the  same  country  we  read 
elsewhere  in  his  work  : 

"  Intoxication  is  very  rare ;  the  dormant  passions 
are  not  aroused  by  it,  and  the  laws  are  enforced.  With 
all  the  corruption  of  the  bench  in  Cuba,  the  murderer 
very  seldom  escapes  from  punishment ;  and  so  well  is 
justice  administered,  in  certain  cases,  that  that  foul 
excrescence  on  civilization,  and  most  deliberate  defier 
of  the  laws  of  God,  the  duellist,  receives  no  mercy,  and 
the  crime  is  now  unknown  on  the  island." 


116  CUBA    AND 

Make  a  law  to  expel  every  person  who  cannot  give  a 
good  account  of  himself,  on  the  commission  of  a  crime ; 
name  vultures  for  police  agents  ;  place  corrupt  judges 
on  the  bench,  and  a  country  will  probably  be  free  from 
excrescence,  i.  e.,  murder  and  duelling  ! 

Even  in  the  appendix,  written  after  the  recent  insur 
rection,  which  would  never  have  extended  so  far  had  the 
island  not  been  ruled  without  the  concurrence  of  the 
landholders,  the  author  of  the  "  Notes,"  seeing  that  his 
prophecies  had  wholly  failed,  still  adheres  to  the  dark 
banner  under  which  he  had  enlisted,  and  still  seeks  the 
means  of  palliating  what  has  and  can  have  no  excuse 
among  civilized  nations.  In  extenuation  of  the  acts 
committed  in  Cuba  during  the  judicial  proceedings,  he 
cites  the  punishments  inflicted  by  the  English  in  Dub 
lin  half  a  century  ago,  and  adds,  that  if  greater  ex 
cesses  were  committed  in  the  Antille,  it  was  because 
they  could  be  committed  with  greater  impunity.  What 
ever  horrors  it  has  been  the  fate  of  the  latter  to  witness, 
let  not  the  abolitionist  ascribe  them  to  slavery.  The 
author  has  his  answer  :  "  Abandoned  to  the  caprice  of 
the  sub-commissions  that  visited  the  plantations,  the 
whole  population,  afraid  to  utter  one  word  against  their 
acts,  in  despair  saw  their  property  sacrificed,  and  were 
compelled  to  witness  the  most  revolting  scenes  of  cru 
elty." 

To  the  violent  and  powerful  slave-trade  party  must, 
nevertheless,  be  ascribed,  in  a  great  measure,  the  errors 
and  excesses  committed  in  the  investigation  of  the  ne 
gro  plots.  This  fruitful  source  of  future  danger,  like 
all  the  other  evils  which  threaten  Cuba,  must  be  attrib 
uted  to  that  sordid  class  who,  regardless  of  the  welfare 
of  the  country,  are  wholly  intent  upon  the  acquisition 
of  wealth. 


THE  CUBANS.  117 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Habits  and  Customs  of  the  Island. — "  Letters  from  Cuba." — Visit  to 
the  Estate  of  Don  Santiago. — The  Quitrin. — The  Calesero. — 
Roads.— The  Tavern  of  "  La  Perfecta."— Hard  Fare.— Manuel's 
Distress. — Interesting  Account  of  Himself. — Sugar  Estate. — Don 
Santiago's  Patriotism. — The  Sugar  Master. — Anecdotes. — Musical 
taste  of  the  Cubans. — The  Cuban  Press. — Story  of  Maria  del  Rosa- 
rio. — Evils  and  Abuses  of  the  Administration  of  Justice. 

PURSUING  the  plan  first  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  the 
Creole  inhabitants  of  Cuba,  in  the  several  relations  of 
life,  before  setting  forth  an  account  of  the  grievances 
and  oppressions  under  which  they  now  groan,  several 
extracts  are  here  made  from  a  series  of  papers  en 
titled  "  Letters  from  Cuba,"  which  first  appeared  in 
the  Knickerbocker  Magazine,  about  1845.  The  first 
contains  an  account  of  a  visit  to  a  sugar  estate,  in 
cluding  the  incidents  of  the  journey. 

I  told  you  in  my  last,  that  I  was  just  starting  for 
Don  Santiago's  estate,  and  in  his  company.  Our  con 
veyance  was  a  two-wheeled  vehicle,  very  much  like 
our  "gigs,"  although  larger,  and  set  upon  leather 
straps,  which  make  it  quite  easy  over  the  uneven  roads 
of  the  country.  It  was  drawn  by  three  horses  har 
nessed  abreast ;  the  one  on  the  right  side  guided  by 
my  friend  from  his  seat  next  to  me  in  the  "  quitrin^ 
the  middle  one  tackled  in  the  shafts,  and  the  left  one 
for  the  "  calesero"  or  driver,  to  mount.  The  calesero 
had  on  well-polished  leather  boots,  buckled  all  the  way 
from  the  feet  to  the  knee,  thence  open  and  stiff  to  the 
hip ;  a  straw  hat  about  nine  inches  high,  with  a  mod 
erate  brim,  and  handsome  colored  ribbon,  a  black  cra 
vat,  and  a  livery  with  silver  ornaments.  His  knee 
buckles,  his  large  heavy  spurs,  and  the  handle  of  his 


118  CUBA    AND 

long  whip,  were  of  fine  silver.  After  three  hours' 
swift  travel  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  (where  the  turn 
pike  roads,  which  are  kept  in  fine  condition  at  a  great 
expense,  by  the  careful  attention  of  the  junto  de  fo- 
mento,  presented  an  easy  path),  we  gradually  began  to 
notice  the  uneven  and  broken  way,  which  appeared  to 
have  received  its  improvement  rather  from  continual 
travel  than  from  any  intended  human  agency.  In 
some  of  these  irregular  avenues  the  soil,  which  is  very 
soft  and  black,  and  rendered  pliable  by  the  heavy 
rains,  would  sink  beneath  the  wheels  of  the  "  quitrin," 
while  the  heavy  carts,  with  wheels  seven  feet  in  diam 
eter,  which  we  occasionally  met  on  the  way,  cut  deep 
and  continuous  trenches  all  along  the  road.  My  friend 
made  me  notice  particularly  that  the  peculiar  ability 
of  a  calesero  consisted  in  driving  rapidly  along  the 
margin  of  these  trenches,  sometimes  more  than  three 
feet  deep,  and  extending  several  miles,  without  ever 
allowing  the  carriage-wheels  to  drop  into  them  on 
either  side.  He  likewise  shows  his  skill  in  avoiding 
the  stones,  loose  and  fixed,  which  are  scattered  in  the 
road.  As  I  beheld  the  monstrous  carts,  loaded  with 
two  hogsheads  of  nearly  two  hundred  gallons  each,  or 
eight  boxes  of  sugar,  constantly  destroying  by  their 
large  thin  wheels  the  few  repairs  occasionally  at 
tempted,  in  addition  to  the  several  obstacles  that  re 
quire  the  ever-vigilant  eye  of  the  driver  to  avoid  colli 
sion  or  excessive  jolting,  I  was  convinced  that  no  other 
mode  of  conveyance  would  be  better  adapted  to  the 
condition  of  things. 

Travelers  are  very  much  disposed  to  find  fault  with 
whatever  may  differ  from  their  preconceived  notions, 
or  the  standard  to  which  habit  has  fashioned  their 
opinions.  It  often  happens,  however,  that  further 
consideration  furnishes  some  very  good  reason  for  not 
adopting  what,  in  other  circumstances,  would  be  the 
height  of  perfection.  I  will  give  you  an  instance. 
You  may  frequently  have  heard  that  manuring  land  is 


THE    CUBANS.  119 

not  practiced  in  Cuba.  In  the  staple  production, 
sugar,  the  price  of  land  is  but  an  inferior  item  of  the 
heavy  capital  to  be  invested ;  and  so  long  as  the  dis 
tance  of  the  new  lands  from  market  does  not  make  the 
transportation  of  cane  by  carts  too  inconvenient,  it  will 
be  more  advantageous  to  work  the  new  soil  and  obtain 
its  virgin  growth,  than  to  manure  the  old  fields,  where 
manual  labor  is  the  most  expensive.  The  ready  mar 
ket  for  vegetables  raised  near  the  city  of  Havana, 
affords  great  encouragement  to  the  farmer's  assiduity ; 
and  you  will  accordingly  perceive  that  the  soil  is  sub 
jected  to  a  very  elaborate  and  skillful  system  of  culti 
vation.  Some  of  the  planters,  who  have  no  new  lands 
near  them,  are  unwilling  to  abandon  the  costly  build 
ings  required  on  their  estates,  and  consequently  give 
very  particular  attention  to  improving  their  lands  by 
manuring  and  the  use  of  the  plough. 

Our  black  calesero  drove  around  numberless  small 
and  large  stones,  up  and  down  hill,  and  along  the 
trenches  made  by  the  carts,  and  more  than  once  ap 
proached  close  upon  the  verge  of  a  precipice,  but  with 
out  diminishing  the  rapidity  of  his  motion.  Occasion 
ally  he  would  meet  an  acquaintance  of  either  color,  to 
whom  he  bowed  with  a  courtly  smile.  Although  my 
friend  Don  Santiago  did  not  usually  stop  for  any  meals 
on  the  road,  to  gratify  my  desire  of  seeing  every  thing, 
the  calesero  drove  gallantly  up  to  the  tavern  of  "  La 

Perfecta,"  in  the  village  of .     Under  the  shelter 

of  a  wide  shed,  which  ran  round  it,  a  number  of  horses 
were  standing — some  tied  to  the  posts,  others  with 
their  riders  on  them,  who,  without  dismounting  from 
their  large  straw  saddles,  were  making  purchases,  or 
conversing  with  those  standing  about  them.  We  were 
shown  into  a  small  room,  a  little  more  cleanly  than 
the  rest  of  the  house,  and  in  a  short  time  were  served 
with  some  very  tough  beef,  strongly  seasoned  with  gar 
lic,  some  fried  eggs,  a  bit  of  very  salt  ham,  coffee  with 
dirty  sugar,  and  no  rnilk. 


120  CUBA    AND 

The  tavern-keeper,  who  seemed  delighted  that  he 
was  able  to  supply  us  with  such  inviting  fare,  asked  us 
at  times  how  we  liked  the  service,  adding  that  it  was 
lucky  for  us  that  we  had  come  on  Wednesday,  because 
Sundays  and  Wednesdays  were  the  days  for  killing. 
"  But  your  beef  is  rather  tough,"  said  Don  Santiago. 
"  And  how  could  it  be  otherwise?"  he  answered.  "  In 
the  first  place,  old  oxen  are  the  cheapest  article  to  be 
found.  They  are  the  heaviest  also,  which  is  another 
advantage,  as  the  duty  is  just  the  same  on  large  as  on 
small  cattle.  When  the  butcher  happens  to  kill  a  two- 
years'-old  calf,  he  is  sure  to  lose  by  it,  as  the  duty  dis- 
proportionably  increases  the  cost."  Don  Santiago  also 
remarked  to  me,  that  as  the  treasury  agents  sold  the 
privilege  of  killing  to  the  highest  bidder,  without  any 
particular  regard  to  the  wishes  of  the  public,  the  only 
point  they  considered  was  the  increase  of  the  revenue, 
the  provision  for  the  benefit  of  the  community  being  ob 
served  as  mere  matter  of  form  ;  and  that  a  petition  was 
never  made  or  expected  to  be  made  on  the  part  of  in 
dividuals,  who  found  it  always  more  to  their  interest  to 
to  endure  abuses  than  to  complain  of  them. 

We  were  thus  far  beginning  to  discuss  matters  of 
importance,  when,  the  inn-keeper  having  retired,  Man 
uel,  our  black  driver,  in  the  uncouth  accoutrement  I 
have  described,  somewhat  bespattered  with  mud,  hold 
ing  his  whip  in  his  left  hand,  and  his  hat  in  his  right, 
entered  our  room,  swinging  like  a  sailor,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  embarrassment  in  walking  caused  by  the 
large  ears  of  his  boots.  "  Child,"  said  he,  addressing 
his  master,  who  was  certainly  much  older  than  himself, 
"  I  want  to  speak  privately  with  the  child ;"  and  he 
looked  toward  me.  Don  Santiago  told  him  that  I  was 
a  foreigner,  and  he  might  speak  without  reserve.  I 
was  so  anxious  to  pick  up  any  interesting  matter  re 
garding  the  country,  that  I  gladly  availed  myself  of  the 
opportunity,  and  remained  in  the  room. 

"  The  child  knows,"  added  Manuel,  "  that  ever  since 


THE    CUBANS.  121 

I  came  to  this  country,  ever  since  I  was  a  mere  baby, 
I  have  been  with  your  bounty,  and  in  the  child's  fami 
ly.  Your  bounty  is  my  father  and  my  mother.  I 
have  nothing  in  the  world  besides.  When  I  have  my 
sorrows,  to  whom  shall  I  tell  them  but  the  child  1  And 
if  the  child  reject  me,  what  shall  I  do?  Oh,  my  God  !" 

"But,  Manuel,"  interrupted  Don  Santiago,  "what 
is  the  matter  ?  what  ails  you  ?  have  you  been  whipped  1 
have  you  been  in  want  of  any  thing?  are  you  ill?  do 
you  wish  to  have  another  master  ?" 

"  Another  master!"  continued  Manuel ;  "  it  is  well 
for  the  child  to  suspect  one  of  that  wish  after  being  so 
many  years  in  the  house  !  Alas  !  what  would  the  good 
old  gentleman  say,  were  he  to  rise  from  the  hole,  if  he 
saw  and  heard  the  strange  things  that  have  happened 
in  these  days  !  The  negro  name,  how  it  has  gone 
down  !  And  after  passing  all  our  life  in  the  service  of 
such  good  masters  as  the  child,  no  matter  what  we  do 
(because  there  are  some  bad  slaves,  who  have  acted  im 
properly),  we  are  all  doomed  to  lose  the  confidence  we 
enjoj^ed.  If  I  say,  me,  Manuel,  the  old  calesero  of  the 
family  of  Cisueros,  that  I  love  my  master,  or  his  chil 
dren  ;  if  the  child  is  sick,  and  I  inquire,  as  I  always 
have  done,  why,  I  am  only  making  believe." 

Don  Santiago  kindly  reproved  Manuel,  wishing  him 
to  be  more  precise  in  his  expostulation. 

"  Very  well,  my  master,"  said  Manuel ;  "I  know 
this  is  not  a  suitable  place  ;  but  at  home  I  could  not 
speak,  and  my  heart  was  so  low,  I  could  not  wait." 

"  But,  Manuel,"  said  Don  Santiago,  "  have  I  ever 
accused  you?"  "  No,"  answered  Manuel,  "  you  have 
not.  But  I  will  tell  you  all,  right  away.  You  know 
how  much  I  have  tried  to  please  the  'nina.'*  My 

*  By  "  nina,"  the  feminine  of  child,  Manuel  meant  Don  Santiago's 
wife.  A  distinguished  Spanish  writer  observed  to  me,  that  the  term 
"  child"  was  a  delicate  flattery  (since  it  implied  youth),  invented  by 
the  negroes  to  avoid  the  more  humiliating  expression,  "Sumerccd," 
which  signifies  "  Your  bounty." 

6 


122  CUBA    AND 

business  always  has  been  to  have  the  volante  clean  and 
ready.  But  if  your  nina  wishes  me  to  go  of  errands, 
to  help  the  cook  on  some  holidays,  let  any  one  say  if 
Manuel  refused ;  let  any  one  say  if  he  put  a  bad  face 
to  it,  as  would  have  done  the  caleseros  of  the  Montal- 
vos,  the  Charones,  or  the  Herreras,  or  any  of  those 
great  families,  who  are  no  better  than  the  family  of  the 
child.  No  such  thing :  always  at  hand,  always  to  be 
found,  always  cheerful ;  and  now  the  nina  says  I  am 
surly  ;  I  want  to  shake  off  her  authority  !  c  Well,'  says 
I  to  myself,  '  the  nina  is  not  pleased  with  me,  but  if  I 
go  tell  my  master,  in  these  hard  times  for  the  black 
color,  he  will,  perhaps,  think  bad  of  me.  Ah,  Manuel ! 
have  patience  !'  says  I ;  and  then  I  go  and  purchase  a 
wax  candle  with  the  same  money  the  child  gave  me  last 
week,  and  which  I  always  spend  in  lottery  tickets  at 
the  grocer's  store  at  the  corner,*  and  right  before  the 
image  of  the  Virgin  of  Mount  Carmelo,  which  I  nailed 
in  the  room  of  the  harness  of  the  volante,  I  lighted  it 
all  day  and  night  until  it  wasted  away.  I  am  a  little 
ashamed  to  tell  these  things,  because  I  know  you  gen 
tlemen  laugh  at  them.  But  pardon  me  ;  for  the  poor 
slave,  when  his  heart  is  made  so  very  small,  has  no  help 
but  to  go  to  prayer.  Then  I  thought  things  were  going 
to  right  again  ;  when  yesterday  morning,  because  the 
wheel  of  the  volante  went  once  over  a  stone,  which  cer 
tainly  seldom  happens,  when  I  am  mounted  on  the  horse, 
the  nina  said  I  did  it  on  purpose  ;  that  I  was  as  great 
a  conspirator  as  any  ;  and  because  I  staid  late  at  the 
street-door  last  night,  playing  on  the  '  tiple,'f  as  I  have 
always  done,  your  nina  said  your  bounty  ought  to  get 
me  a  place  in  the -'opera-house,  and  have  one  enemy  less 
near  her  person.  Alas,  child,  I  cannot  help  it ;  I  can 
no  more  bear  it ;  the  child  knows  my  heart." 

As  the  scene  was  becoming  too  pathetic  for  the  place, 
Don  Santiago  urged  Manuel  to  be  consoled,  adding, 

*  The  negro  spends  nearly  all  the  money  he  can  get  in  this  way. 
t  A  favorite  negro  instrument. 


THE    CUBANS.  123 

that  he  would  remind  the  lady  of  his  good  services,  and 
do  away  any  unfavorable  impression  she  might  have  re 
specting  him.  Manual  appeared  relieved,  and  walked 
to  his  horses,  carefully  balancing  his  body  as  he  went 
along.  We  followed,  jumped  into  the  volante,  and 
hurried  from  the  tavern. 

On  arriving  at  the  estate,  we  stopped  at  the  dwell 
ing-house,  which,  as  the  don  was  not  expected,  was  far 
from  being  properly  prepared  to  receive  us.  He  apol 
ogized,  and  explained  that  he  preferred  all  these  incon 
veniences  to  giving  previous  notice  of  his  coming.  He 
calculated  too  much,  perhaps,  on  the  idea  of  taking  his 
operarios,  or  workmen,  by  surprise ;  and  observed  to 
me  that  he  once  found  all  the  white  persons  employed 
on  his  plantation  gone  to  a  ball,  and  the  negroes  left  by 
themselves  ;  and  that  an  estate  was  not  unfrequently 
made  the  rendezvous  of  gamblers.  We  walked  over  to 
the  square  of  buildings,  which  are  generally  placed  in 
the  centre  of  the  plantation,  and  found  them  in  the  in 
variable  respective  order  observed  here  :  the  mill  and 
the  boiling-house  in  the  west  part,  the  baggage-house 
still  farther  west,  and  the  purging7house  and  drying- 
drawer  in  the  north,  so  that  the  latter  may  receive  the 
rays  of  the  sun  from  morning  till  night. 

During  our  short  absence  the  house  had  been  com 
fortably  arranged.  We  found  two  or  three  black  dam 
sels,  just  dressed  in  new  and  shining  calico  frocks,  with 
silk  shoes,  wrorn  slip-shod,  red  shawls,  and  hair  ar 
ranged  in  very  fine  tresses,  and  very  tight  on  the  head. 
The  table  was  set,  our  rooms  neatly  disposed,  and  our 
beds  ready  to  receive  us,  should  we.  feel  disposed  to 
take  before  dinner  what  the  Spanish  call  the  prebenda 
ry's  or  canonical  nap.  I  preferred  a  small  room  where 
I  found  some  old  books  covered  with  dust,  which  ap 
peared  not  to  have  been  disturbed  for  years.  Don 
Santiago,  divining  my  intention,  ordered  one  of  the 
black  girls  to  dust  them  off ;  and,  sitting  down,  awaited 
what  I  should  say  of  the  assortment,  which  I  was  de- 


124  CUBA    AND 

termined  to  examine.  I  read  aloud  the  title  of  the  first 
pamphlet  I  laid  my  hand  on  :  "  Expediente  de  las  Cor 
tes  Extraordinaria,  Sobre  Trafico,  y  esclavitud  de  Ne- 
gros ;"  1811. 

"  Quite  other  days  than  the  present,"  said  my  friend ; 
"read  that  single  phrase;"  and  he  turned  over  the 
pages  until  he  found  it ;  "  read  it,  and  be  astonished 
at  the  change.  That  was  the  way  our  public  bodies 
addressed  the  government  when  they  had  dignity,  and 
were  not  spurned  as  they  now  are."  The  phrase  which 
seemed  to  have  fixed  Don  Santiago's  attention  was  the 
following  :  "  And  we  would  conclude  by  saying  on  these 
subjects,  what  our  fidelity  and  honor  require,  that  Span 
iards  should  be  Spaniards  every  where,  especially  in 
those  countries  which,  moist  with  their  blood,  or  the 
sweat  of  their  brow,  acknowledge  them  conquerors  and 
founders ;  and  that  if  we  were  loyal  under  sufferings, 
we  could  not  be  less  so,  enjoying  the  splendors  and  ad 
vantages  which  now  encircle  the  Spanish  name." 

"  How  changed  !  how  changed  !"  continued  Don  San 
tiago  ;  "  nobody  can  speak  so  now ;  and,  if  he  did, 
he  would  be  obliged  to  lament,  as  the  calesero  did 
this  morning,  that  no  one  believed  or  dared  acknowledge 
he  believed  him.  The  moneda-corriente^  the  pass 
word  of  all  the  government  people,  is  to  assert  and 
maintain,  whether  they  really  think  so  or  not,  that  we, 
the  Creoles,  are  all  insurgents.  We  have  been  placed 
in  Manuel's  case,  you  see." 

Don  Santiago's  burst  of  indignation,  like  all  such 
emotions  with  the  Cubans,  soon  subsided ;  and  adjust 
ing  his  rather  loose  vest  over  his  ample  stomach,  he  went 
out  to  meet  the  sugar  master,  whom  he  had  been  for 
some  time  expecting.  The  latter  was  a  pale,  thin  man, 
about  five  feet  six  inches  in  height.  This  being  the 
season  when  those  of  his  occupation  have  no  employ 
ment,  he  appeared  in  full  dress  :  a  wide-brimmed  straw- 
hat  ;  blue  striped  breeches,  fastened  to  his  waist ;  a 
white  embroidered  shirt  hanging  loosely  over  them ;  a 


THE    CUBANS.  125 

very  large  straight  sword,  made  at  the  factory  of  Gu- 
anabaioa,  with  a  silver  handle,  ornamented  with  pre 
cious  stones  ;  his  shirt-collar  and  sleeves  confined  with 
gold  buckles ;  an  embroidered  cambric  handkerchief 
tied  loosely  round  his  neck  ;  pumps  cut  quite  low  ;  and 
heavy  silver  spurs.  Were  it  not  for  the  finery  above 
described,  you  might  fancy,  from  his  mode  of  wearing 
his  shirt,  that  he  was  not  altogether  dressed.  I  have 
often  thought  what  a  figure  a  man  thus  attired  would 
make  on  the  sidewalks  in  Broadway !  But  you  may 
be  assured,  that  were  he  placed  there,  he  would  be  per 
fectly  at  ease  ;  for  you  can  have  no  idea  of  the  bold,  in 
dependent  manner  peculiar  to  the  "  guageros,"  or 
country  people  of  Cuba. 

"  How  has  it  fared  with  the  Senor  Don  Santiago?" 
said  he,  as  he  presented  his  hand  to  his  employer,  in 
the  most  cordial  and  easy  manner. 

"  Very  well,  Perez,"  said  the  former ;  "  as  well  as 
it  can  fare  with  the  planters  now-a-days,  with  such  ter 
rible  occurrences,  and  such  small  crops  and  low  prices." 

"  Ah  !  the  Senor  Don  Santiago  has  no  reason  to  com 
plain.  He  fares  better  than  many ;  and  as  for  the 
qualit}r  of  the  sugar,  he  must  be  aware  that  there  is 
none  better  in  the  market." 

"  You  are  mistaken  there,"  replied  the  planter;  "  for 
many  better  sugars  than  mine  have  gone  from  the  port 
of  Havana." 

"  You  say  so,"  continued  Perez,  sitting  himself  down 
as  Don  Santiago  had  done,  "  and  so  it  may  be  too ;  but 
considering  the  quality  of  the  cane,  and  the  materials, 
and  the  fuel,  I  am  sure  that  the  man  is  not  yet  born 
who  could  improve  my  sugar." 

"  Remember,"  answered  the  don,  "  remember  my 
near  neighbor,  with  the  same  quality  of  land,  and,  I  am 
certain,  with  no  better  help  than  I  give  you,  what  a 
superior  article  he  makes." 

"  So  have  I,  ever  since  the  Senor  Don  Santiago  turned 
away  the  impudent  ox-driver,  who  used  to  throw  sour 


126  CUBA    AND 

juice  from  the  ditches  into  the  juice-gutter,  in  order  to 
spoil  my  sugar.  But  as  for  any  man's  improving  my 
work,  that  cannot  be.  The  Senor  Don  Santiago  must 
know  that  I  was  born  in  the  boiling-houses,  was  brought 
up  in  them,  and  my  hair  has  grown  gray  in  them.  The 
senor  should  likewise  bear  in  mind  that  I  do  not  wear 
a  hat*  in  the  boiling-house.  No,  sir,  no  hat.  Why 
should  1 1  That  will  do  for  those  who  are  new  in  the 
trade.  I  can  smell  the  *  guarapo'  at  one  league's  dis 
tance.  The  senor  may  perhaps  remember  the  old 

Count  of .  He  it  was  who  made  me  follow  the 

trade ;  and  never  did  that  estate  produce  a  better  ar 
ticle  than  while  I  was  there ;  and  so  the  count  used  to 
say,  and  make  me  presents,  and  call  me  when  he  had 
company  ;  and  we  went  along  very  well.  He  used  al 
ways  to  take  me  along  with  him  to  the  cock-fightings, 
and  say  he  did  not  care  for  two  or  twenty  boilers -full 
lost,  for  the  pleasure  of  having  me  at  his  side  on  these 
expeditions.  At  that  time  he  had  an  Indian  cock,  the 
most  sprightly  and  sure  bird  I  ever  saw ;  and  the  count 
would  have  nobody  touch  him  but  myself.  But  I  per 
ceive  the  senor  has  a  visitor,  and  I  can  come  another 
day." 

"  No  matter  for  that,"  said  Don  Santiago,  who  no 
ticed  how  delighted  I  was  ;  "  tell  us  how  you  came  to 
leave  the  old  Count  of ." 

"  Leave  him  !  why  I  should  have  left  him  a  thousand 
times,  if  he  had  been  my  own  father.  I  had  just  worked 
the  old  cane-fields,  and  coming  to  a  new  one,  which  was 
overgrown  and  mostly  decayed,  the  sugar,  of  course, 
did  not  look  like  the  rest  in  the  boiling-houses  ;  al 
though,  had  the  clay  been  laid  on  it,  I  am  sure  it  would 
have  given  the  very  best  result.  I  remember  it  was 
the  countess'  birthday,  and  just  after  dinner  there 
comes  a  large  party  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  into  the 
boiling-house,  all  gay  and  lively,  while  I  was  cursing 

*  The  hat  is  used  to  attract  the  vapors  over  the  kettles,  in  order  to 
smoll  and  judge  how  the  sugar  is. 


THE    CUBANS.  127 

the  cane.  They  all  looked  at  the  sugar,  and  made  faces 
at  it ;  and  by  and  by,  who  should  come  to  me  but  the 
countess  herself,  and  before  every  body,  even  the  over 
seer's  wife,  who  came  peeping  in,  to  rejoice  in  my 
trouble,  tells  me,  '  Why,  Perez,  I  see  you  know  how  to 
manufacture  dirt  as  well  as  sugar  !' ' 

"  Was  that  all  the  cause  of  your  leaving  the  count  1" 
inquired  Don  Santiago. 

"  No,  sir  ;  it  did  not  end  there.  The  senor  may  re 
member  how  devout  the  old  countess  used  to  be.  She 
had  always  gowns  for  the  Virgin  and  Saint  Francis  to 
make ;  and  she  was  proud  of  it,  too,  the  sweet  lady ! 
Well,  I  turned  to  her  at  once,  and  said :  '  My  lady 
the  countess  would  do  quite  as  well  to  attend  to  the 
dressing  of  saints,  which  she  understands,  than  to  the 
making  of  sugar,  which  she  does  not.'  If  you  had  seen 
what  an  uproar  was  raised  then !  All  I  can  tell  the 
senor  is,  that  I  heard  the  countess  tell  her  husband, 
£  Pancho,  do  not  let  this  man  sleep  here  this  night !' 
But  I  had  the  pleasure,  many  years  after,  to  be  recalled 
to  the  old  count.  Twenty  sugar  masters  had  been 
tending  his  boiling-house.  All  lost ;  not  one  grain  of 
sugar  fit  to  be  looked  at.  At  last  the  count  sent  for 
me.  t  Well,  Perez,  you  see  how  I  am,'  said  he.  '  But 
the  count  has  been  permitting  himself  to  be  ruined,'  I 
answered,  £  because  he  wishes  to  do  so.  Now  from  here 
is  nearly  one  league,  yet  I  can  without  hesitation  say 
that  they  are  burning  the  juice  with  too  much  lime.' 
Two  hours  after  the  best  sugar  ever  made  was  drawing 
from  the  kettles.  They  had  been  using  twelve  cocoa- 
nuts  of  lime  ;  I  at  once  reduced  it  to  three.  My  nose 
could  not  fail  me  !" 

It  is  on  account  of  this  use  of  the  olfactory  nerves, 
Don  Santiago  informed  me,  that  his  utmost  care  with 
the  sugar  masters  during  "  crop  season"  is  required 
to  prevent  their  taking  cold. 

Before  dismissing  the  sugar  master,  I  must  tell 
you  an  anecdote,  which  I  heard  from  Don  Santiago. 


128  CUBA    AND 

The  latter  had  given  him  a  short  elementary  treatise 
on  the  manufacture  of  sugar ;  and  having  asked  him 
several  times  whether  he  had  read  it  or  not,  Perez, 
after  saying  that  he  had  a  tiple  ;  that  he  understood 
the  trade :  and  repeating  all  the  praises  of  himself 
with  which  I  have  favored  you,  finally  broke  out  with : 
"  The  Senor  Don  Santiago  must  excuse  me  ;  but  what 
could  a  man  like  me,  brought  up  in  boiling-houses, 
learn  from  any  of  those  foreigners,  or  their  foreign 
contrivances  ?  I  am  in  nature's  way,  which  is  always 
the  best,  and  am  no  child  to  begin  my  ABC  now  !" 

Among  the  various  means  of  spending  my  time,  I 
have  occasionally  read  some  of  Don  Santiago's  books 
and  pamphlets,  endeavoring  to  obtain  from  them  some 
information  upon  the  political  situation  of  this  island 
in  latter  years.  If  you  would  have  exact  ideas  take 
the  subject  as  patiently  as  I  have ;  for  there  exists  in 
the  United  States,  a  lamentable  ignorance  of  the  po 
litical  system  of  government  in  Cuba,  and  very  erro 
neous  opinions  of  its  nature. 

From  the  following  extract  some  idea  can  be  gained 
of  the  musical  taste  of  the  Cubans,  and  the  hyperbole 
and  fiction  which  are  necessary  characteristics  of  the 
Cuban  press  : 

"  I  was  presented  not  long  ago  at  the  tertulia,  of 
St.  Cecilia,  one  of  the  three  very  respectable  philhar 
monic  societies,  which  are  the  constant  resort  of  the 
fashionable  world  of  Havana.  By  means  of  a  small 
stipend  the  members  of  these  communities  are  enabled 
to  have  concerts  and  two  hours  of  dancing  every  week, 
which  in  a  great  measure  take  the  place  of  the  agreea 
ble  parties  we  enjoy  so  much  at  home.  Of  late,  com 
plete  operas  have  often  been  performed,  altogether  by 
amateurs.  The  Lucia  di  Lammermoor,  the  Pirata, 
and  the  Barbiere  de  Seville  have  repeatedly  called  forth 
the  applause  of  croAvded  audiences.  Indeed,  we  must 
admit  that  there  is  throughout  this  country  a  very 


THE    CUBANS.  129 

general  and  delicate  taste  for  music,  which  is  not  to 
be  found  in  our  colder  region.  I  do  not  however  con 
sider  the  higher  latitude  the  sole  cause  of  this  differ 
ence.  Where  the  genius  of  man  is  crushed,  and 
forced  from  its  natural  channel,  like  the  waters  of  the 
fountain  it  will  rise  to  the  level  of  its  outlet  in  another. 
Take  from  American  society  the  exciting  interests  of 
political  ambition ;  restrain  their  bold  mercantile, 
manufacturing,  and  agricultural  enterprise  by  unwise 
legislation ;  shackle  and  repress  their  free  spirit,  and 
they  would  instinctively  seek  other  spheres  of  exer 
tion,  and  consequently  become  greater  proficients  in 
the  fine  arts.  Give  free  institutions  to  Italy,  and  her 
dazzling  musical  superiority  would  gradually  sink  to 
an  equality  with  the  rest  of  the  world. 

"  In  most  countries  you  would  naturally  conclude  that 
by  taking  up  a  newspaper  a  correct  knowledge  of  all 
the  interesting  events  of  the  day  might  be  obtained  : 
not  so  here  ;  and  the  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  strict 
censorship  exercised  over  the  publication  of  the  most 
trifling  article,  the  grant  depending  upon  the  mere  will 
of  the  censor.  This  state  of  the  public  press  origin 
ates  a  conventional  emphatic  style  of  writing,  which 
every  body  reads  without  surprise  in  all  the  periodi 
cals  of  the  city,  and  every  body  translates  into  the 
veritable  meaning,  as  a  matter  of  course.  To  a  for 
eigner,  however,  unaccustomed  to  this  everlasting  hy 
perbole,  extending  its  poetry  and  fiction  to  the  most 
common  acts  of  every-day  life,  it  is  difficult  to  get  into 
the  habit  of  translating.  It  is,  withal,  very  important 
that  the  newspapers  of  the  United  States  should  be  put 
on  their  guard ;  for  it  often  excites  a  smile  with  those 
who  are  here,  to  see  the  apparent  or  real  candor  which 
they  exhibit  in  repeating  the  fairy  dreams  of  the  Cuban 
press.  But  I  am  occasionally  amused  with  the  efforts 
of  some  able  writers,  who  give  interest  to  the  period 
icals  by  an  airy,  delicate  style,  which,  though  charac 
terized  by  great  enthusiasm  and  warmth  of  feeling, 
6* 


180  CUBA    AND 

vented  in  exaggerated  expressions,  is  still  pleasing  to 
the  reader.  The  editor  of  the  "  Diario  de  Avisos^ 
Don  Ramon  de  Palma,  is  a  remarkable  specimen  of 
this  kind ;  a  distinguished  literary  character,  and  both 
as  a  poet  and  a  prose  writer,  excelling  in  that  lively 
arid  graceful,  I  had  almost  said  ethereal,  manner,  for 
which  the  French  are  distinguished.  His  introductions 
to  the  periodical  reports  of  the  fashions,  of  the  public 
amusements,  and  various  little  incidents  which  enter 
tain  the  fashionable  world,  affect  one  almost  like  the 
perusal  of  an  oriental  tale  ;  and  yet  how  melancholy  to 
behold  such  a  waste  of  genius,  such  a  perversion  of 
mind,  and  of  intellectual  eifort,  arising  solely  from  the 
tyranny  of  a  government  whose  intent  appears  to  be  to 
encourage  every  thing  that  can  render  the  inhabitants 
forgetful  of  their  own  interests." 

Here  is  an  extract  illustrating  the  peculiar  method 
of  administering  justice  in  Havana  : 

"  I  have  some  how  or  other  become  quite  attached  to 
a  little  neighbor  of  mine,  a  colored  woman,  who  every 
morning  is  to  be  seen  at  the  vegetable  market,  sitting 
near  the  corner  of  the  Calle  de  la  Cuva,  in  the  Plaza 
Vieja  ;  surrounded  by  sweet  potatoes  and  plantains, 
and  little  piles  of  beans,  turnips,  tomatoes,  egg-pears, 
dried  corn,  and  so  forth,  set  upon  several  coarse  straw 
mats  ;  animated  and  cheerful,  and  turning  round  in  her 
large,  easy  leather  chair,  to  talk  to  her  numerous  ac 
quaintances,  or  to  persuade  her  customers  into  a  bar 
gain,  and  occasionally  answering  some  flattering,  and 
but  too  significant,  though  public,  insinuation  of  her 
enamored  gallants,  as  naturally  and  coolly  as  if  it  in 
no  way  concerned  her.  I  have  often  wondered,  while 
observing  her  at  her  usual  station,  so  active,  so  busy 
and  pleasant,  and  so  perfectly  agreeable  to  every  one, 
how  the  apparent  art  of  a  coarse,  but  withal  grateful, 
politeness  had  been  acquired  by  this  woman.  There 
she  would  sit  for  hours  and  hours,  in  her  very  loose 
calico  dress,  with  a  yellow-and-black  shawl,  a  clean 


THE    CUBANS.  131 

Madras  handkerchief  on  her  head,  green  silk  shoes, 
no  stockings,  a  fat,  fresh,  happy  face,  beautiful  white 
teeth,  rings  of  all  kinds  on  her  fingers,  ear-rings,  brace 
lets,  and  a  coral  necklace,  brilliant  on  the  black  surface 
of  her  smooth  skin.  Why  I  should  feel  any  more  in 
terest  in  c  Maria  del  Rosario'  than  in  any  of  the  other 
dealers  in  the  market,  I  know  not ;  but  certain  it  is, 
that  I  was  agreeably  attracted  by  her  manner,  and 
thought  I  read  in  her  looks  evident  demonstrations  of  a 
feeling  soul  within. 

"  Having  got  into  conversation  with  her  one  morning, 
when  I  was  tempted  to  buy  some  of  her  really  beautiful 
Avocado  pears,  I  soon  after  had  a  fit  opportunity  to  be 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  my  surmise.  At  ten  o'clock, 
having  paid  the  commissary  a  tax  for  the  privilege  of 
selling  in  the  market,  she  would  retire  to  her  dwelling, 
which  was  a  small  wooden  house,  away  off  in  the  Bar 
rio  de  San  Lazaro,  facing  the  boisterous  beatings  of 
the  ocean  at  the  Punta,  and  looking  as  desolate  and 
dreary  as  the  countenance  of  the  inmate  was  invariably 
cheerful  and  calm.  There  she  would  commence  a  new 
task,  that  of  washing  and  ironing,  which  kept  her  in 
constant  labor  until  late  in  the  evening.  As  her  in 
dustry  appeared  to  me  so  unavailing  and  endless,  I  was 
induced  to  question  her  particularly  about  her  private 
aifairs.  Thus  I  became  acquainted  with  the  following 
facts  :  Poor  Rosario  had  come  from  the  country  of  the 
Mandingoes,  in  her  early  youth ;  had  been  sold  to  a 
wealthy  family,  where  she  had  enjoyed  many  hours  of 
leisure,  which  she  so  employed  as  to  obtain  the  means 
of  purchasing  her  freedom.  But  since  the  patronage 
of  her  former  master  was  no  longer  hers,  the  petty  ex 
actions  of  the  commissaries  and  sub-commissaries  of 
the  police  ate  up  nearly  all  her  earnings.  On  a  great 
festival  she  had  not  complied  with  the  order  of  having 
a  lighted  lantern  at  her  street-door,  and  was  obliged  to 
pay  a  fine  for  the  infraction.  One  of  the  female  serv 
ants  living  with  her  had  let  her  license  run  five  or  six 


132  CUBA     AND 

days  beyond  its  time  without  renewing  it,  which  brought 
upon  poor  Rosario  the  charge  of  keeping  unlicensed  per 
sons  of  color  at  her  house.  There  was  a  number  of 
similar  unfortunate  unavoidable  little  committals,  which 
caused  her  incessant  trouble  and  expense.  But  her 
most  serious  source  of  misery  arose  from  her  determin 
ation  to  obtain  from  a  captain  of  a  regiment,  stationed 
at  Havana,  her  long-standing  bill  for  washing.  All  her 
endeavors,  through  the  under-menials  of  justice,  with 
whom  she  was  in  constant  contact,  having  proved  fruit 
less,  she  appeared  one  morning  at  the  audience  of  the 
captain-general,  to  establish  her  claim  against  her 
debtor.  From  the  moment  she  stated  at  the  lower 
bureau  her  object,  she  was  evidently  an  unwelcome 
visitor,  and  was  looked  upon  as  a  most  daring  woman. 
She  lost  the  whole  of  one  morning  to  get  the  order  to 
appear ;  she  could  hardly  find  any  one  to  execute  it ; 
and  was  harassed  and  kept  waiting  for  a  number  of 
days,  until  her  perseverance  overcame  all  obstacles, 
and  she  had  the  satisfaction  of  appearing  at  the  tri 
bune  with  the  representative  of  her  debtor,  a  shrewd, 
diminutive,  sly,  dapper,  old  man,  abundant  in  words, 
scant  of  ideas,  and  as  little  concerned  in  the  clear 
ing  of  the  case  as  she  was  desirous  of  making  it 
distinct.  Her  heart  nearly  failed  her  when  she  saw 
that  instead  of  the  imposing  presence  of  the  captain- 
general,  she  was  only  heard  by  a  beardless  officer,  ver 
bally  commissioned  by  his  excellency.  The  latter, 
nevertheless,  took  special  care  to  sign  all  the  judicial 
acts,  as  if  he  had  been  present  at  them,  so  as  to  receive 
the  fees.  It  was  alleged,  on  the  part  of  the  debtor,  that 
though  the  instructions  received  from  his  party  were  not 
perfectly  satisfactory,  there  had  at  least  been  what  the  law 
stj^led  plus  petitior,  the  bill  having  been  overcharged  ; 
that  it  was  subject  to  a  liquidation,  and  that  the  case 
should  be  written  down  and  followed  through  the  regu 
lar  order  of  proceedings.  There  was  no  one  to  answer 
for  her,  that  the  amount  being  a  small  one,  it  should  be 


THE    CUBANS.  133 

decided  at  once,  and  Rosario  had  the  sad  alternative  of 
abandoning  her  claim,  or  throwing  herself  in  the  ocean 
of  a  Cuba  law-suit,  with  the  additional  cause  of  dread 
of  her  antagonist,  who  was  a  European  officer  in  ac 
tive  service. 

"  On  the  evening  of  her  appearance  at  court,  I  called 
on  my  poor  friend,  whose  fate  became  interesting  to 
me ;  and  soon  after  my  inquiries  had  been  answered, 
the  same  little  man  who  acted  for  the  captain  at  the 
court,  came  in. 

"  £  Well,'  said  he,  at  once,  with  the  air  of  most  pro 
found  indifference  to  her  sorrows,  c  I  have  come  to  see 
you  merely  for  your  own  sake,  for  I  would  not  have 
you  get  into  trouble.  You  are  yet  in  time  :  it  will  be 
my  business  to  press  the  suit  hereafter,  and  you  will  be 
obliged  in  three  days'  time  to  name  your  own  procura- 
dor,  or  law-agent,  and  supply  him  with  about  as  much 
money  for  expenses  as  the  debt  amounts  to.  I  propose 
to  you  to  reduce  the  eighty-two  dollars  you  claim,  to 
thirty-four,  which  will  be  paid  by  me  in  a  reasonable 
time ;  and  you  pay  the  charges  of  the  suit  as  far  as 
they  go,  now,  and  thank  me  too ;  for  you  do  not  know 
what  it  is  to  get  yourself  into  trouble  with  the  army.' 

"  During  this  conversation,  Rosario  occasionally 
looked  at  me,  as  if  to  seek  advice ;  and  whether  she 
read  in  my  countenance  decided  marks  of  indignation, 
or  not,  she  mustered  courage,  and  in  spite  of  the  threats 
of  the  agent,  and  of  the  under-commissary  of  police, 
who  came  to  stand  by  him,  and  to  censure  the  steps 
she  had  taken,  she  insisted  upon  going  on  with  her 
suit. 

"  From  this  time,  it  was  no  longer  in  Rosario's  power 
to  appease,  with  comparatively  trifling  gifts,  the  insa 
tiable  avarice  and  ill-nature  of  the  commissaries.  Just 
as  the  law-agent  had  threatened,  the  suit  was  followed 
on  in  writing,  with  more  activity  on  the  part  of  the  de 
fendant,  who  represented  himself  as  very  indignant; 
and  the  wretched  and  disconsolate  washerwoman  was 


134  CUBA    AND 

obliged  to  borrow  money  in  order  to  carry  it  on.  She 
had  of  course  named  an  agent  for  herself,  such  as  she 
could  find,  who  would  take  charge  of  so  troublesome 
and  unpromising  an  affair ;  and  though  now  and  then 
soothed  with  the  hopes  of  obtaining  one  favorable  res 
olution,  there  was  nothing  very  positive  in  the  result, 
excepting  that  time,  money,  and  patience  were  lost. 
At  last,  I  was  so  moved  by  her  distress  that  I  resolved 
to  do  something  for  her ;  and,  having  secured  a  respect 
able  friend  among  the  lawyers,  I  prevailed  upon  him  to 
see  into  her  case.  Immediately  after  this,  my  friend 
had  the  woman's  agent  called  to  him,  so  as  to  obtain 
and  peruse  the  proceedings,  so  far  as  they  had  been 
advanced ;  and  I  saw  such  a  change  in  the  manner  of 
the  commissaries,  and  the  little  contemptible  set  of 
agents  employed  in  the  business,  that  I  began  to  feel 
as  if  I  had  done  a  great  deal  for  the  woman.  To  sat 
isfy  myself  on  the  subject — for  Rosario  was  already 
overpowering  in  her  thanks,  and  in  the  fullness  of  her 
heart,  begged  me  to  allow  her  to  do  my  washing  for 
nothing — I  hastened  one  morning  to  my  learned  friend 
of  the  law.  Behind  a  rather  high  table,  literally  cov 
ered  with  processes,  or  <  autos,'  my  friend  was  negli 
gently  seated,  in  a  huge,  Spanish  easy-chair.  He 
was  surrounded  by  a  few  business  men,  who  seemed 
waiting  for  their  turn  to  speak  with  him ;  and  altoge 
ther  taken  up  with  the  brief  instructions  of  notary 
clerks  and  agents.  At  times  he  would  place  his  sig 
nature  at  the  bottom  of  some  petition  or  writing ;  and 
invariably  sustained  the  unmoved  countenance  of  an 
old  warrior,  no  matter  what  ponderous  or  drea,dful  tale 
or  information  was  communicated  to  him.  On  seeing 
me  come  in,  he  for  one  moment  looked  as  if  he  were 
going  to  rise  from  the  drudgery  which  surrounded  him, 
and  as  if  he  could  smile  over  it  wTith  me ;  but  the  next 
instant  he  sank  back  into  his  usual  tone,  bowed  slightly 
to  me,  and  turned  unconsciously  around  on  the  anxious 
circle  which  pressed  about  him. 


THE    CUBANS.  135 

"  { I  have  seen  the  process  of  your  protege*,'  said  he, 
at  last,  when  an  opportunity  offered  to  attend  on  me, 
'  and  am  afraid  that  nothing  can  be  done  for  her.  In 
the  first  place,  the  act  of  comparescence  is  enacted  in 
such  language  as  best  suited  the  party  of  the  captain. 
She  appears  herself  more  desirous  of  having  her  account 
approved  of,  than  of  collecting  the  sum.  Then,  in  the 
numberless  petitions  of  her  own  agent,  this  seems  to 
have  been  the  principal  point  of  his  requests.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  protests  of  the  captain,  from  the  very 
first  act,  as  to  his  readiness  to  exhibit  the  sum,  pro 
vided  it  be  ascertained,  are  calculated  to  make  the  ex 
penses  bear  on  the  poor  woman.  This  is  probably  an 
explicit  or  instinctive  combination  of  all  the  law-agents, 
assessors,  and  lawyers  in  the  case,  who  generally  en 
deavor  to  stamp  some  weak  point  on  the  party  who  is 
more  ready  or  able  to  pay,  so  as  not  to  lose  their  fees 
by  giving  all  right  to  the  innocent.'  My  friend  added, 
however,  that  he  would  call  upon  the  captain-general 
himself,  and  have  some  conversation  with  him,  and 
would  then  see  me  again.  The  uncommon  circum 
stance  of  a  respectable  lawyer  appearing  privately  to 
demand  attention  to  a  case  like  this,  produced  some 
useful  effect.  The  general  ordered  instant  payment  of 
the  sum ;  but  what  he  could  not  interfere  with,  as  he 
said,  was  the  expenses,  which  were  far  beyond  the 
amount  sued  for ;  so  that,  upon  the  whole,  it  was  un 
derstood  and  settled  that  poor  Rosario  should  neither 
claim  her  bill  nor  pay  any  charges,  and  endeavor  there 
after  to  be  as  amiable  and  generous  to  the  little  set  of 
menials  of  justice  as  she  had  been  previously. 

"  This  little  history  is  every  day  repeated  in  a  thou 
sand  different  shapes  ;  and  surely  no  one  who  sees 
occasionally  in  the  city  of  Havana  the  appearance  of 
comfort  and  civilization,  the  pompous  records  of  re 
forms,  and  the  annual  speeches  of  the  judicial  courts, 
glowing  with  equitable  principles  of  justice  and  human 
ity,  could  imagine  that  the  society  which  seeins  thus 


136  CUBA    AND 

prosperous  and  lofty  is  devoured  by  a  cancer  so  de 
structive  to  their  fortunes,  ease,  and  repose.  Speaking 
on  this  subject,  the  Revista  de  Espana  once  expressed 
itself  thus  :  "  Were  you  to  withdraw  the  brilliant  mask 
which  hides  the  state  of  the  country,  a  lacerated  and 
deformed  skeleton  would  present  itself  to  our  sight. 
*  *  *  Other  evils,  other  abuses,  may  chiefly  fall  on 
interests  and  classes  better  able  to  support  them ;  but 
those  coming  from  the  administration  of  justice,  prey 
upon  every  class  and  condition  in  life,  impairing  and 
absolutely  ruining  the  most  indigent  and  helpless." 


THE  CUBANS.  13T 


CHAPTER  V. 

Visit  to  the  Country  Residence  of  a  wealthy  Marquis. — Singular  Oc 
casion  of  it. — The  Marquis  and  his  Creditors. — The  Spanish  Judge 
and  the  Advocate. — The  Marchioness  and  her  Guests. — Her  Chil 
dren. — Mode  of  bringing  up  a  Family. — Easy  way  of  dealing  with 
stubborn  Creditors. — The  unfortunate  Potrerero. — Early  Dawn  in 
Cuba. — The  Morning  and  Evening. — Tacon's  Opera  House. — In 
solence  of  the  Soldiers. — Anecdotes. — Beauty  of  the  young  Cu- 
banese. — The  married  Women. —  Their  Habits  and  Customs. — 
Shopping. —  Exercise  in  the  Volatile. —  Children. — The  lower 
Classes. — The  Guagiro. — His  Courtship. — Obsolete  Customs. — 
The  hours  of  the  Oracion. — Conclusion. 

THE  epistolary  style  is  continued  in  the  present  chap 
ter  in  order  to  present  more  vividly  the  social  habits 
and  customs  of  the  native  Cubans.  In  this  way  many 
things  can  be  introduced  and  described  of  which  no 
proper  conception  can  in  any  other  manner  be  afforded. 
The  following,  then,  may  be  considered  as  taken  from 
an  unpublished  letter : 

You  desire  me  to  describe  the  social  condition  of  the 
Cubans,  and  as  the  request  is  coupled  with  an  intima 
tion  that  this  must  be  done  forthwith,  I  have  con 
cluded,  under  the  urgent  necessity  of  the  case,  to 
throw  aside  forms,  preambles,  and  introductory  re 
marks,  and  report  quite  abruptly  the  result  of  an  in 
vitation  I  had  lately  to  the  country  residence  of  a 
wealthy  marquis.  At  one  of  the  stations  of  the  rail 
road  we  found  several  empty  volantes,  with  their 
mounted  drivers  and  gaudy  liveries  in  attendance  for 
our  party.  The  marquis  was  a  man  of  easy  and  amia 
ble  manners,  though  not  particularly  clever  in  conver 
sation.  He  seemed  to  attend  on  his  friends  as  if  by 
starts,  and  unconsciously  relapsed  into  an  habitual 


138  CUBA    AND 

revery.  His  dress,  of  clean,  colored  linen,  constituted 
the  regular  traveling  habit  of  a  Cuban  gentleman.  In 
singular  contrast  with  this,  but  one  quite  peculiar 
to  the  country,  he  wore  an  immense  diamond-pin  at 
his  breast.  This  little  insignia  might,  in  the  pres 
ent  day,  when  railroads  are  depriving  tourists  of  their 
descriptions  of  solitary  and  dangerous  scenes  and  local 
ities,  be  a  substitute  for  the  ornamented  uniform, 
which,  with  the  honors  of  an  army  officer,  not  long  ago 
was  regularly  purchased  by  men  of  rank,  to  secure  to 
them  the  right  of  traveling  unmolested  by  petty  officers 
of  justice,  or  fine- gather ers,  as  they  may  well  be 
named.  But  to  return  to  my  company.  The  mar 
chioness,  a  fine-looking  woman,  of  about  fifty,  wore 
a  dress  of  the  thinnest  cambric ;  her  still  small  and 
pretty  feet  were  encased  in  delicate  satin  slippers ; 
while  a  bonnet  of  transparent  texture,  more  appropri 
ately  trimmed  for  an  opera-box  than  suited  to  the 
heavy  red  dust  of  the  Cuban  roads,  completed  her 
traveling  attire.  She  seemed  all  activity ;  to  the  sev 
eral  gentlemen  who  formed  our  party  she  had  continu 
ally  something  to  say  ;  she  gave  her  orders  to  the  driv 
ers,  determined  where  we  were  to  have  breakfast,  or 
dered  the  several  stoppages,  and  even  seemed  to  whis 
per  now  and  then  to  her  docile  husband  what  was  best 
for  him  to  say  or  to  do.  I  observed  that  her  atten 
tions  were  especially  divided  between  two  rather  re 
markable  members  of  our  party,  with  whom  she  had, 
alternately,  long  conversations,  which  were  at  times  very 
private.  One  of  these  persons  was  a  native  of  Castile, 
in  Old  Spain,  a  man  of  about  forty,  though  from  his 
rather  bulky  figure,  one  would  have  judged  him  to  be 
considerably  older.  He  appeared  to  be  fully  impressed 
with  his  own  dignity — when  he  spoke,  he  seemed  to 
listen  to  his  own  remarks,  which  he  could  do  to  per 
fection,  as  no  one  presumed  to  interrupt  him,  while  all 
heard  him  with  deep  attention.  His  complexion  was 
dark,  his  eyes  jet  black,  and  in  his  speech,  the  clear 


THE    CUBANS.  139 

Castilian  pronunciation,  in  which  even  the  commonest 
of  that  province  appear  to  delight,  was  evident  to  the 
most  careless  ear.  With  all  the  deference  paid  to  this 
important  guest,  whose  attire,  with  the  exception  of  a 
rather  shabby  discolored  ribbon  in  the  button-hole,  was 
similar  to  that  of  the  other  guests,  he  did  not  always 
retain  the  manner  of  one  quite  at  ease ;  on  the  con 
trary,  it  seemed  as  if  it  were  more  natural  for  him  to 
court  those  by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  than  to  receive 
their  homage.  I  soon  ascertained  that  he  was  one  of 
the  judges  recently  sent  from  Spain,  elevated  to  the 
office,  though  ignorant  of  the  country,  and  its  habits  and 
usages,  from  his  fortunate  relation  to  members  of  the 
cabinet  or  Cortes.  The  other  gentleman  engrossing  the 
attention  of  the  lady  marchioness,  was  a  young  lawyer, 
full  of  activity,  and  with  the  money-making  spirit  of  a 
true  Catalonian;  his  particular  influence  with  courts 
of  justice,  was  owing  to  his  Spanish  birth,  and  was  the 
origin  of  his  great  practice  and  profits  in  the  profession. 
u  Una  flor,"  said  he,  picking  a  flower  and  presenting 
it  to  the  marchioness,  "  a  flower  that  will  appear  as 
beautiful  on  you,  as  your  bountiful  gifts  will  in  my 
purse."  I  was  struck  with,  and  have  since  remember 
ed,  this  remark,  which  in  its  very  insipidity  and  coarse 
allusion,  gave  an  idea  of  the  aping,  at  what  is  gallant 
and  graceful  in  the  Spanish  gentleman,  on  the  part  of 
the  upstarts  of  the  present  military  administration  in 
Spain ;  and  at  the  risk  of  being  charged  with  digress 
ing,  I  cannot  resist  the  inquiry,  whether  the  Spanish 
gentleman  of  days  gone  by,  is  a  character  now  altogether 
historical  1  The  intermixture  in  the  best  society,  for 
the  last  half  century,  of  men  risen  through  party  influ 
ence,  especially  from  the  Carlist  ranks — the  utter  anni 
hilation  of  that  faith  in  his  church  which  gave  a  serious 
cast  to  the  natural  dignity  of  the  native  Spaniard — the 
mercenary  motives  which  from  the  throne  have  pene 
trated  down  to  the  humblest  cottages — every  thing  has 
conspired  to  efface  the  simple  but  haughty  and  noble- 


140  CUBA    AND 

minded  Spanish  gentleman,  both  from  the  Peninsular 
and  from  Cuban  society.  Let  me,  however,  be  just ; 
the  class  does  exist,  and  Spain  may  yet  boast  of  the 
distinguished  "  caballeros,"  whose  manners  may  have 
become  even  too  polished  to  reflect  the  plain  Castilian 
courtesy,  but  whose  truthfulness  and  uprightness  of 
character  would  excite  the  envy  of  more  advanced  na 
tions.  I  could  point  out  as  a  specimen,  Don  Miguel 
Rodriguez  Ferrer,  whose  recent  visit  to  Cuba,  apparently 
to  report  the  physical  condition  and  historical  reminis 
cences  of  the  island,  produced  the  most  able  and  impres 
sive  political  sketches,  which,  privately  communicated  to 
the  court  as  they  were,  would  have  brought  about,  under 
an  enlightened  administration,  immediate  reforms  and 
concessions.  But  so  great  is  the  habit  of  acting  the  part 
of  conquerors,  which  has  become  almost  intuitive  in  the 
old  Spaniards,  that  even  Rodriguez  Ferrer  manifested  a 
tinge  of  haughty  arrogance  while  in  America,  of  which, 
as  a  native  of  Spain,  he  could  hardly  divest  himself. 

To  a  foreigner,  the  object  of  the  party  assembled  at 
the  estate  "  Santa  Gertrudis,"  which  I  had  accident 
ally  joined,  would  have  appeared  incongruous  and  ex 
traordinary.  The  Marquis  of  Santa  Gertrudis,  through 
the  reckless  extravagance  of  his  wife,  had  become  en 
tangled  in  his  affairs  ;  and  were  it  the  practice  for  men 
of  wealth  to  pay  off  their  debts  at  once,  he  would  very 
likely  have  become  a  bankrupt.  This,  however,  is  not 
the  custom  in  Cuba ;  but  such  matters  are  managed  on 
this  wise.*  The  creditors  are  assembled;  yearly  in 
stallments  are  agreed  upon  ;  the  extravagant  living  of 
the  noble  family  is  considered  a  necessary  expenditure, 
and  the  majority,  usually  made  up  of  family  or  ficti 
tious  creditors,  force  the  rebellious  claimants  to  lay 
down  their  arms,  and  enter  into  private  compromises. 
The  effect  of  this  course  is  to  set  the  family  at  ease  ; 
the  lady  returns  to  her  habits  of  luxury ;  the  sons  to 
their  dissipation ;  the  daughters  to  their  careless  waste 

*  See  Appendix. 


THE    CUBANS.  141 

of  finery  ;  while  they  spend  their  time  in  love-sick  fan 
cies  ;  the  poor  relations  and  parasite  friends  to  their 
customary  dependence  on  the  old  trunk,  raised  from  the 
ground  for  a  few  more  years  ;  and  the  head  of  the  fam 
ily  to  fresh  undertakings  of  new  estates.  And  all  this 
is  carried  out  with  as  much  indifference  as  if,  in  place 
of  an  extorted  compromise  from  clamorous  creditors, 
payment  in  full  of  every  debt  had  been  promptly  made. 
The  lady  who,  on  the  occasion,  had  the  manage 
ment  of  this  important  domestic  matter,  was  the  daugh 
ter  of  the  Count  of  M .  She  belonged  to  what 

may  be  called  the  staunch  nobility.  Nature,  and 
the  teachings  of  her  noble-minded  parents,  had  made 
her  a  modest  and  virtuous  woman.  But  the  habits  of 
her  new  home,  and  the  circle  surrounding  her,  were 
calculated  to  impair  her  superior  qualities.  The  uni 
versal  custom  of  the  country,  rather  than  indolence,  in 
fluenced  her,  from  the  very  first  years  of  her  married 
life,  to  give  into  the  hands  of  her  slaves  the  nursing 
and  early  training  of  her  children.  The  recollections 
of  her  father's  home  now  and  then  directed  her  atten 
tion  to  books  and  foreign  literature.  But  she  found 
none  to  sympathize  in  such  tastes ;  the  ball-room,  the 
"  sociedades,"  the  operas,  her  visits,  the  tedious  and 
loquacious  shoppings,  the  "  paseo,"  the  correspondence 
which  she  found  it  necessary  to  maintain  with  the  coun 
try-estate  clerks,  and,  what  is  more  than  all  calculated 
to  destroy  the  freshness  of  modesty  and  beauty,  the 
gambling-table,  to  which  she  gradually  became  habitu 
ated,  not  only  deprived  her  of  time  for  more  intellectual 
and  domestic  enjoyments,  but  destroyed  by  degrees  her 
original  taste  for  them.  "  Mamma,"  said  her  son,  a 
boy  of  fourteen,  dressed  like  a  small  gentleman,  and 
with  all  the  nonchalance  and  airs  of  a  gallant,  "  I  don't 
know  how  you  or  papa  are  arranging  3rour  business  with 
the  creditors,  but  you  must  recollect  that  my  own  pri 
vate  property,  now  in  your  hands,  must  be  so  left  that 
I  may  have  all  the  necessary  resources  for  living,  and 


142  CUBA    AND 

for  my  customary  pleasures  ;  and  as  to  my  carriage,  I 
cannot  give  it  up  on  any  consideration,  for  there  is  not 
one  of  my  cousins  who  is  without  this  convenience." 
He  went  on  at  this  rate,  until  the  poor  mother,  con 
scious  that  she  was  reaping  the  fruits  of  her  own  errors 
a,nd  neglect,  sighed  in  despondency.  I  must  add,  with 
pain,  that  this  specimen  of  filial  coldness  and  depravity 
is  by  no  means  the  exception ;  the  too  fond  and  over- 
indulgent  mothers,  who  are  themselves  the  direct  cause 
of  such  examples,  are  far  more  to  be  pitied  than  con 
demned.  What  teaching  or  light  have  they  enjoyed  to 
guide  them  in  their  incipient  path  when  starting  in  life  1 
The  magistrate  is  corrupt,  and  his  misconduct  is  the 
subject  of  every-day  anecdotes  and  scandal ;  the  minis 
ter  of  the  gospel  teaches  neither  by  example  nor  from 
the  pulpit ;  the  husband  has  no  idea  of  performing  what 
would  elsewhere  be  considered  the  most  ordinary  duties ; 
the  society  is  frivolous ;  books  are  looked  upon  with 
aversion  ;  the  press  is  an  instrument  of  oppression  ;  and 
the  mainspring  of  civilization  and  civil  liberty,  faith 
in  Christ,  is  unknown. 

In  what  able  manner  the  marchioness  succeeded  in 
exciting  the  energy  of  her  lawyer,  by  the  offer  of  ample 
reward,  what  secret  understanding  went  on  between 
him  and  the  unintellectual  Castilian  judge,  how  each 
creditor  was  coaxed  or  frightened  into  acquiescence,  I 
cannot  say.  I  will  only  add,  that  some  of  them  ob 
tained  favorable  arrangements  through  the  cunning  ar 
guments  of  the  judge,  which  were  the  more  ludicrous 
from  contrast  with  his  reasonings  with  other  creditors, 
whom  it  was  his  policy  to  discourage  in  their  claims. 
It  was  painful  to  see  how  poor  neighbors  had  to  yield 
to  these  influences  out  of  utter  incapacity  to  counteract 
such  disgraceful  combinations.  Among  the  company 
of  creditors,  I  was  much  amused  with  the  appearance 
of  a  potrerero  (cattle  grazier),  who  was  particularly  ur 
gent  on  the  occasion.  The  fact  is,  the  daughters  of  the 
potrerero,  whenever  they  appear  in  public,  dress  most 


THE    CUBANS.  143 

extravagantly,  •  quite  after  the  style  of  the  wealthiest 
ladies  of  the  island.  To  satisfy  this  thirst  after  finery 
of  the  female  portion  of  his  household,  the  potrerero  has 
invariably  to  contract  debts  for  the  paying  of  which  the 
earnings  of  the  year  are  hardly  sufficient.  What  won 
der,  then,  that  the  poor  cattle  grazier  urged  his  claim 
with  a  desperate  but  unavailing  earnestness.  He,  with 
the  other  persevering  creditors,  were  overruled,  and  the 
marquis  was  thereupon  left  to  his  new  projects,  his  wife 
to  her  accustomed  routine  of  folly  and  of  fashion,  the 
sons  to  their  pleasures,  and  the  daughters  to  the  enjoy 
ment  of  new  dresses,  new  finery,  and  new  fancies. 
Have  I  not  drawn  a  revolting  picture  ?  Alas !  it  is 

absolutely  a  true  one. 

*****  *  * 

I  had  intended  before  this  to  allude  to  the  climate 
and  atmosphere  of  this  enchanting  island.  It  is  quite 
impossible,  however,  to  give  to  one  who  has  never  en 
joyed  it,  an  idea  of  the  delicious  fragrance  of  the  early 
dawn.  The  exquisite  freshness  of  the  morning,  the 
soft,  cool  breeze  of  evening,  when  the  very  soul  is  re 
freshed  and  purified,  and  the  pulse  of  life  beats  fuller 
and  clearer,  produces  a  sensation  to  be  enjoyed  only, 
but  never  to  be  described  to  those  living  in  the  for 
bidding  north.  An  intense  gratitude  to  the  Giver 
of  all  these  beauties  fills  the  heart  of  the  stranger, 
and  the  human  voice  rings  through  the  early  morn 
ing  air  with  such  a  clear  freshness,  that  one  would  fancy 
the  inhabitants  would  instinctively  raise  their  first  notes 
in  thanksgiving  or  hymns  of  praise ;  but  alas !  how 
does  the  heart  of  the  good  man  thrill  with  anguish,  as 
he  sees  the  rich  beauties  of  this  lovely  island  perverted 
to  the  wicked  uses  of  more  wicked  men.  The  first 
beams  of  its  glorious  sun  light  upon  the  wearied  souls 
of  worn-out  and  exhausted  slaves,  and  serve  but  to 
render  more  visible  the  degrading  bondage  of  their  mas 
ters  ;  while  too  often  the  clear  light  of  the  heavenly 
moon  reveals  sights  of  infamy  and  vice  which  make  the 


144  CUBA    AND 

soul  shudder.  One  feels  at  times  almost  afraid  to  be 
happy  in  a  country  upon  which  the  judgment  of  God 
seems  to  have  fallen  in  wrath.  The  absence  of  all  re 
finement,  religion,  education — in  fact,  of  decency — 
among  the  lower  classes,  is  a  contemplation  painful 
enough  to  mar  all  enjoyment  of  society  in  Cuba.  The 
invariably  idiotic  faces  of  the  women  and  children  make 
the  heart  ache  ;  for  an  humbly  pious  or  modest  young 
face,  I  have  never  seen  among  the  poor.  What  is  not 
vice  or  bold  recklessness,  is  generally  stupidity  or  sickly 
indifference.  I  do  not  think  this  is  prejudice  or  exagge 
ration  ;  I  am  sure  it  is  not ;  for  I  love  Cuba,  I  pity  the 
poor  oppressed  Cubans,  and  I  look  with  loathing  upon 
that  infamous  government  which  has  systematically  de 
stroyed  all  moral  and  social  good  among  them.  When 
I  see  the  half-naked  women — the  all-naked  children — 
the  desperately  bad  (when  not  too  lazy)  men — I  look 
away  from  these  to  their  mother-country,  and  feel  my 
heart  stirred,  in  spite  of  me,  with  a  desire  of  revenge. 
As  these  and  similar  thoughts  were  disturbing  my  spirit 
this  morning,  the  elegant-looking  and  lordly  young  Bish 
op  of  Havana,  in  his  gorgeous  robes  and  costly  jewels, 
swept  past  me  from  the  altar,  amidst  a  train  of  ignorant 
and  servile  priests.  Not  one  gleam  of  piety  or  grace 
could  be  discerned  in  his  vain,  worldly  countenance — 
not  one  single  mark  or  sign  to  denote  him  a  follower  of 
the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus.  I  feel  a  wonder  that  there 
are  none  around  whose  hearts  do  not  burst  forth  into 
audible  expressions  of  disgust ;  I  marvel  that  Spain 
and  her  infamous  government  have  one  voice  left  to 
defend  them  in  Cuba. 

A  stranger  in  this  island  will  be  vividly  impressed 
with  the  contrast  between  the  insolent  hauteur  of  the 
Spanish  official,  and  the  cringing  deference  of  the  pros 
trate  Cuban.  The  commonest  Spanish  soldier  assumes 
the  impertinent  swagger  of  his  superior,  as  a  Creole 
passes  the  point  of  his  bayonet,  while  just  as  surely  his 
cowardly  eye  falls  before  the  independent  glance  of  an 


THE    CUBANS.  145 

American  citizen.  I  remember  to  have  been  struck 
with  an  illustration  of  this,  upon  going  one  night  into 
the  beautiful  opera-house  of  Tacon,  in  Havana,  where 
guards  of  soldiers  and  dragoons  are  regularly  stationed, 
as  it  appeared  to  me,  for  no  better  purpose  than  to  annoy 
ladies,  by  the  freedom  of  their  gaze  and  their  half- whis 
pered  insults.  A  young  man,  while  hastily  making  way 
for  half  a  dozen  beautifully  dressed  girls  with  their  fat 
mammas,  placed  himself  too  near  this  imposing  array  of 
military,  and  within  forbidden  limits.  The  gentleman 
ly  quiet  of  his  manner  deceived  the  officer  on  guard 
into  the  belief  that  he  was  "  only  a  Creole,"  and  he 
arrogantly,  with  lowered  bayonet,  ordered  him  aside. 
"  Come,  come,  my  famous  soldier,"  was  the  reply,  "if  I 
have  done  wrong  by  standing  here,  inform  me  of  it  with 
respect ;  I  am  a  gentleman  and  an  Englishman,  not  one 
of  your  poor  Cubans."  I  turned  to  observe  the  effect 
of  this  reproof,  which  to  my  surprise  was  evidenced  by 
an  bumble  salute,  and  a  courteous  wave  of  the  gold- 
laced  hand  in  the  direction  to  be  taken  by  the  young 
Englishman ! 

Now  that  we  are  here,  let  us  enter  the  opera-house, 
where  we  may,  indeed,  be  surprised  to  see  no  external 
evidence  of  all  this  degrading  tyranny.  Elegantly 
dressed  and  polished  men  crowd  the  boxes  and  seats  ; 
while  the  beautiful  repose  of  countenance  and  figure, 
characteristic  of  the  ladies,  are  expressive  of  dignity  and 
content,  to  say  the  least.  Their  noble  outline  of  fea 
ture  appears  to  great  advantage  in  the  retired  light  of 
an  opera-box,  while  their  full  busts  and  rounded  arms, 
contrast  finely  with  the  richly  plaited,  dark  hair  and 
simple  white  dress,  rarely  ornamented  by  more  than 
a  fall  of  soft  lace  or  a  natural  flower ;  and  one  is 
tempted  to  overlook  the  absence  of  intelligence  and 
brightness  in  those  magnificent  eyes,  in  consideration 
of  their  almost  bewildering  depth  and  softness.  The 
vivacity  of  the  Spanish  lady  is  lost  in  the  Creole ;  but 
in  its  stead,  we  find  a  charming  gentleness  very  pleas- 
T 


146  CUBA    AND 

ing,  and  an  amiability  of  manner  absolutely  captivating 
to  the  stranger.  One  dare  not,  however,  raise  the  eye 
above  the  third  tier  of  boxes,  for  there  again  are  only 
met  the  depraved  countenances  and  loose  manners  of 
the  lower  classes,  unrestrained  by  either  good  taste  or 
shame. 

The  outward  decorum  of  the  better  and  upper 
classes  may  be,  to  a  great  extent,  only  in  appearance, 
as  is  often  asserted  by  prejudiced  foreigners,  for  it  is 
hard  to  understand  how  the  fresh  cheek  of  a  young  girl 
can  retain  its  ordinary  color,  as  I  have  often  witnessed 
in  the  public  paseo  of  Havana,  under  the  bold  and  free 
— I  may  not  hesitate  to  say  licentious — gaze  of  the 
young  men  assembled  to  render  this  tribute  to  their  too 
generously  exposed  charms.  Indeed,  there  seems  little 
reluctance  to  be  thus  admired,  for  no  change  in  the 
expression,  no  falling  of  the  long  and  lovely  black  eye 
lash,  ever  indicates  a  shrinking  from  it.  With  all 
this,  in  no  part  of  the  world  has  it  been  my  fortune  to 
see  more  devoted  wives  and  mothers  than  in  Cuba. 
There  are  few,  indeed,  who  could  teach  their  sons  to 
become  great  men  ;  but  their  deep,  abiding  love,  un 
tiring  care  and  devotion,  many  a  northern  mother  who 
never  allows  a  new  publication  to  escape  her,  and  who 
laments  in  elegant  English  the  ignorance  of  the  Cuban 
ladies,  may,  with  advantage  to  her  own  nursery,  emu 
late.  Literally  speaking,  however,  there  are  no  chil 
dren  in  Cuba  :  men  and  women,  they  descend  from 
their  nurses'  arms*  Little  girls  of  three  years  old  are 
dressed  in  long  dresses  made  in  the  extreme  of  fashion  ; 
artificial  flowers  and  jewels  are  quite  common  ;  and  the 
little  debutantes  sit  gracefully  opening  and  shutting 
their  tiny  fans  with  perfect  incipient  coquetry.  Very 
funny  little  men,  too,  are  manufactured  at  five  or  six 
years,  after  the  complete  toilette  of  a  Parisian  exqui 
site,  not  omitting  diamond-pins  and  a  wonderful  variety 
of  cravats  and  canes. 

We  hear  a  great  deal  of  Cuba  as  the  land  of  gal- 


THE    CUBANS.  147 

lantry  and  love.  The  former  it  may  be,  but  for  the  lat 
ter,  the  sentiment,  or  holiness,  which  should  hallow  the 
union  of  hearts,  is  scarcely  understood ;  the  wives  too 
frequently  degenerate  into  mere  household  drudges, 
scolding  their  servants  and  petting  their  children  all 
day,  and  sitting  at  night,  when  the  former  are  quiet  and 
the  latter  asleep,  in  their  luxurious  butaque  or  easy 
chair  to  play  with  their  fans,  the  use  of  which  is  often 
the  only  grace  left  to  them.  A  Creole  girl  before  mar 
riage  is  a  beautiful  object,  graceful,  gentle,  and  loving ; 
but  a  Creole  woman  after  forty  is  very  generally  quite 
the  reverse.  The  ravages  of  time  are  never  concealed  ; 
gray  hairs  are  not  considered  worth  adorning,  and  old 
age  is  made  disgusting.  Instead  of  the  u  nice  old  la 
dies"  and  elegant  matrons  of  our  American  homes,  we 
too  often  find  in  Cuba  only  fat  scolds  with  voices  loud 
enough  to  frighten  a  regiment  of  men  into  submission, 
and  faces  so  brown,  sa  wrinkled,  and  so  ugly,  and  with 
so  evident  an  absence  of  all  feminine  softness,  that  we 
listen  in  wonder  when  we  are  told  that  they  have  been 
the  beauties  of  their  day.  Delicacy  of  habit,  and  even 
of  feeling,  are  in  my  opinion  smothered  in  their  infancy 
by  the  constant  association  with  negroes  ;  the  loud, 
coarse  laugh  and  low  jests,  they  imbibe  with  their  first 
milk  from  the  same  source  ;  the  habit  of  command  and 
arrogance,  also  acquired  in  their  childhood,  appears  in 
after  life  to  destroy  all  tenderness  of  manner,  and  in 
crease  that  harshness  of  voice  so  universally  remarked 
upon  by  foreigners  and  ascribed  entirely  to  the  effect 
of  climate. 

The  daily  life  of  a  Cuban  lady  is  monotonous  in  the 
extreme.  It  is  utterly  devoid  of  intelligent  exercise 
of  mind  or  body,  and  as  a  natural  consequence  both 
deteriorate  sadly,  A  host  of  nervous  diseases  attest 
the  truth  of  this.  Early  rising  is  a  virtue  common  to 
all  ranks ;  but  the  manner  in  which  they  contrive  to 
kill  time  without  reading,  household  occupations,  or, 
in  fact,  any  employment  except,  perhaps,  a  little  em- 


148  CUBA    AND 

broidery,  is  indeed  a  mystery.  Shopping,  which  is 
generally  confined  to  the  morning,  is,  to  be  sure,  a 
great  resource ;  hours  are  consumed  in  passing  from 
one  shop  to  another,  bargaining  for  goods,  and  chatting 
with  the  very  polite,  but  extremely  familiar  shopkeep 
ers,  quite  elegant-looking  men,  who  do  not  hesitate  to 
address  ladies  by  their  Christian  name,  and  to  pay 
them  most  elaborate  compliments  upon  their  beauty 
and  grace.  Still,  I  can  scarce  find  fault  with  this, 
there  is  so  much  amiability  of  manner,  such  an  entire 
absence  of  intention  to  offend,  so  much  cheerful  alac 
rity  in  complying  with  every  whim  of  a  lady,  and, 
above  all,  such  an  exhaustless,  untiring  patience  in 
running  back  and  forth  from  the  volante  to  the  coun 
ter,  that  one  finds  it  quite  natural  to  smile  at  the  flat 
tery,  and  return,  at  parting,  the  salutation  "a  los  pies 
de  usted,  senora,"  an  "  adios"  with  gracious  good  humor. 
Many  a  foreign  lady  has  been  deluded  by  this  exqui 
site  politeness  into  the  belief  that  she  has  made  a  very 
great  bargain  ;  and  one  which  "  none  but  so  charming 
an  Americana  as  herself  could  have  made  ;"  in  a  fan, 
at  fifty  dollars,  which  a  Habanera  would  have  passed 
an  hour  in  reducing  to  half  the  price. 

Eating  fruit,  and  the  routine  of  the  bath  while  away 
many  a  morning  and  after-dinner.  Happily,  for  the 
Cuban  girls,  the  sun  is  ever  shining,  the  volante,  with 
its  easy  motion,  ever  ready ;  the  negro  maid,  living 
only  to  plait  and  pomatum  their  beautiful  hair,  and 
the  good  mamma  patiently  waiting  to  escort  them  to 
the  public  drives,  or  "paseos."  Operas,  and  visits 
of  interminable  length,  pass  off  the  evening,  and  by 
ten  all  are  again  at  home,  the  massive  house-door 
turns  on  its  hinges,  the  lazy  porter  goes  to  sleep,  and 
the  young  maiden  to  dream  of  the  few  whispered  words 
she  may  perchance  have  caught  from  some  one  of  her 
admirers.  I  reject  all  the  scandalous  accounts  given 
by  most  foreigners  here,  of  the  immorality  existing 
among  the  better  classes.  I  have  seen  no  little  of 


THE    CUBANS.  149 

good  society  in  Havana  and  the  surrounding  cities,  and 
within  my  personal  observation  have  witnessed  the 
highest  degree  of  womanly  devotion  and  virtue ;  the 
reverse  I  have  very  rarely  seen  pass  without  severe 
censure.  The  surveillance  exercised  over  women  pos 
sessing  the  least  pretensions  to  youth  or  good  looks,  is 
the  argument  generally  made  use  of  against  them.  In 
Spain,  where  much  more  freedom  exists,  the  wives  and 
daughters  are  less  pure.  I  would  venture  the  asser 
tion  of  an  impartial  and  quick  observer,  that  entire 
fidelity  and  high  domestic  virtue  exist  among  the  wo 
men  of  Cuba,  especially  when  one  considers  that  the 
many  irksome  restraints  imposed  upon  them,  with  the 
lack  of  mental  resources,  are  calculated  to  produce 
indifference,  or  a  mischievous  frivolity  of  character, 
even  where  the  neglect  of  the  husband  does  not  induce 
a  reckless  despair.  Among  the  lower  classes,  as  I 
have  before  mentioned,  this  is  all  very  different,  and 
the  very  meaning  of  the  word  virtue  is  lost.  This  dis 
grace,  with  countless  others,  Cuba  now  flings  back 
with  reproaches  upon  the  mother-country,  whose  rep 
resentative,  General  O'Donnell,  dared  even  to  sup 
press  the  incipient  organization  of  Sunday  schools  for 
the  poor,  lest,  through  the  little  children,  a  faint  glim 
mer  of  light  might  awaken  their  parents  from  the  dark 
night  of  their  ignorance  and  superstition.  In  towns 
and  villages  where,  as  in  most  civilized  countries,  one 
would  expect  to  find  some  softening,  at  least,  of  the 
vices  of  the  city,  we  see  the  people,  young  and  old, 
sunk  still  lower  in  stupid  ignorance  and  in  an  immor 
ality  of  life  too  revolting  for  me  to  dwell  upon.  A  lit 
tle  romance  perhaps  remains  among  the  country  lov 
ers.  The  Guagiro,  with  his  wild,  dark  eye,  wonder 
fully  expressive  gesture,  and  usually  imperturbable 
self-possession,  becomes  ridiculously  silent  and  shy  in 
his  courting.  In  a  richly-worked  shirt  of  fine  linen, 
worn  upon  the  outside  as  a  sack ;  a  long,  and  often 
elegantly  embroidered  cambric  sash-fastening  to  his 


150  CUBA    AND 

side,  the  silver-handled  sword,  or  "machete,"  silver 
spurs,  and  low  slippers,  he  will  sit  for  hours  opposite  his 
lady-love,  only  venturing  now  and  then  a  word  of  re 
proof,  to  be  interpreted  in  affectionate  playfulness,  and 
to  which  she  retorts  in  the  same  style ;  yet,  now  and 
then,  at  a  glance,  and  when  unobserved,  they  do  ven 
ture  to  exchange  some  very  tender  word.  But  ges 
tures,  shrugging  of  the  shoulders,  little  dashing  airs  of 
coquetry  in  the  lady,  and  bashful  approaches  on  the 
part  of  the  gallant,  fill  up  the  measure  of  the  wooing 
of  the  Cuban  peasant. 

There  are  many  customs  in  the  island  nearly  obso 
lete,  which  have  had  their  origin  in  a  most  simple  and 
true  spirit  of  religion.  One  particularly  struck  me  in 
a  fine  old  Cuban  family  at  Havana,  the  mother  of  whom 
would  grace  her  position  in  any  country.  I  paid  her  a 
visit  at  the  hour  of  the  "  oracion,"  announced  at  sun 
set  by  the  convent  bells  throughout  the  city.  In  past 
years,  as  in  Spain,  at  that  moment  every  voice  and  oc 
cupation  was  suspended,  and  every  knee  bent  in  silent 
prayer ;  but  now  the  only  observance  of  it  I  have 
any  where  seen,  was  (in  the  family  I  have  men 
tioned)  the  quiet  dropping  in,  one  after  another,  of  the 
children  of  the  donna,  to  ask  her  blessing,  and  affec 
tionately  kiss  her  hand.  The  action  in  itself,  though 
not  intended  to  produce  the  least  effect,  was  most 
touching,  as  she,  placing  her  hand  gracefully  and  feel 
ingly  upon  each  young  head,  replied,  "  Dios  te  haga 
bueno  hijo" — God  make  you  good,  my  child.  Among 
the  slaves  in  another  family  I  have  known  the  same 
custom  observed,  and  I  found  it  peculiarly  touching  to 
see  a  large,  coarse  African  slightly  bending  his  knee  to 
his  master  and  mistress  to  ask  of  them  the  evening 
blessing.  This  too  would  be  asked  for  and  received 
with  a  sincere  and  marked  affection  on  both  sides. 
The  above,  however,  are  instances  which  I  am  sorry  to 
say  now  stand  nearly  alone.  By  degrees,  religious  ob 
servances  and  true  piety  have  given  way  to  a  careless 


THE    CUBANS.  151 

indifference  or  an  open  disbelief ;  and  unless  a  change 
is  speedily  effected  in  the  general  administration  of  the 
island,  it  will  sink  still  lower  in  the  scale  of  humanity. 
Heaven  forbid  that  this  should  be.  Is  it  not  time  that 
philanthropists  every  where  should  awake  to  the  fearful 
condition  of  Cuba,  and  use  every  effort  to  free  her 
from  her  present  degrading  bondage  ? 


152  CUBA    AND 


CHAPTER  VI. 

State  of  Religion  in  Cuba. — Contrast  with  the  same  in  former  times. 
— The  "  Angelas." — Flirtations  carried  on  in  the  Churches. — Infi 
delity  universally  prevalent. — Absence  of  all  Religious  Feeling  in 
Families  of  every  class. — No  piety  among  the  Priests. — Their  dis 
gusting  Debaucheries  and  Excesses. — Horrible  instances  of  this  in 
the  priest  Don  Felix  del  Pino. — Roman  Catholicism. — Why  many 
of  the  Cubans  desire  Annexation  with  the  United  States. — An  ap 
peal  to  the  Christian  philanthropist. 

AMONG  the  many  reasons  for  sad  reflection  afforded  by 
the  present  situation  of  the  beautiful  Queen  of  the 
Antilles,  there  is  none  so  appalling  as  the  low  and 
wretched  condition  of  religion.  The  seeds  of  infidelity 
which  were  so  widely  diffused  through  the  world  at  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  have  been  greatly  checked 
within  late  years  ;  and  the  Christian  observer  now  re 
joices  daily  more  and  more  at  the  general  extension  of 
the  Gospel  influence.  But  in  unhappy  Cuba  those 
fatal  seeds  seem  to  have  found  a  more  propitious  nur 
ture  under  the  influence  of  depressing  and  deterior 
ating  government ;  and  nowhere  therefore  is  presented 
a  more  dark  and  distressing  picture  of  unbelief,  corrup 
tion,  and  immorality. 

Twenty-five  years  ago,  if  one  happened  to  be  an  in 
mate  of  any  respectable  Cuban  family,  one  would  be 
sure  to  meet  with  religious  practices  and  feelings  which, 
even  to  a  foreigner  of  a  different  creed,  appeared  cheer 
ing  and  grateful.  At  the  hour  of  twilight,  a  church 
bell  rung  through  the  city  would  create  every  where  a 
sudden  and  simultaneous  excitement.  It  was  the 
"  Angelus"  and  at  its  sound  all  persons,  of  all  classes, 
would  at  once  rise  to  say  their  evening  prayers ; 
children  and  servants  would,  at  its  conclusion,  ask  a 


THE    CUBANS.  153 

blessing  from  their  parents  or  masters  ;  while  every 
carriage  and  passenger  would  pause  in  the  street,  every 
workman  would  suspend  his  toil,  and  a  general  mani 
festation  of  religious  reverence  would  be  exhibited. 
In  those  days  frequent  sermons,  from  pious  and  elo 
quent  preachers,  would  awaken  the  congregations  that 
filled  the  churches  to  the  solemn  truths  connected  with 
their  spiritual  welfare  ;  slaves  and  free  blacks  were 
instructed  in  the  precepts  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  ser 
vice  of  the  temple  was  attended  with  devotion  arid 
decency. 

At  the  present  day,  in  all  the  churches  of  Cuba,  a 
brief  mass,  scandalously  hurried  through,  and  wit 
nessed  by  a  very  small  portion  of  the  inhabitants,  is 
all  that  attests  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  And  even 
this  poor  and  meagre  performance  of  the  solemn  ser 
vices  of  the  church  whose  creed  bears  sway  in  the 
island,  by  whom  and  how  is  it  attended?  By  few 
others  than  those  who  resort  to  it  as  a  public  place  of 
meeting,  gayety,  and  flirtation.  The  ladies  pi}7  the 
telegraphic  fan  with  the  same  airs  of  coquetry  and 
playfulness  as  they  may  have  done  the  evening  before 
at  the  theatre,  or  as  they  will  probably  do  the  same 
evening  at  the  opera.  The  young  gentlemen  attend 
at  the  doors  for  the  interchange  of  glances  with  their 
fair  friends,  and  perhaps  for  a  glimpse  of  the  pretty 
ankles  ascending  the  steps  of  the  volantes,  in  waiting. 
All  seem  intent  on  showing,  by  their  smiles  and  their 
undisguised  disrespect,  that  they  are  neither  believers, 
nor  ashamed  of  their  unbelief.  In  the  church  itself, 
are  no  expounding — no  reading,  even  of  the  Gospel — no 
visits  of  the  pastors — no  consolations  carried  to  the 
dying — none  of  the  charitable  communities  that  abound 
in  other  countries,  both  Catholic  and  Protestant. 

Among  the  shopkeepers  and  artisans,  is  manifested 
the  same  utter  disregard,  not  to  say  scorn,  of  the 
Christian  Sabbath  and  the  Christian  faith ;  for  with 
wide-open  doors  and  windows,  and  on  the  public  street, 


154  CUBA    AND 

they  pursue,  without  even  the  affectation  of  a  difference, 
the  customary  employments  of  the  week  in  labor  or 
traffic. 

But  to  explore  further  the  moral  results  of  the  state 
of  things  thus  imperfectly  described,  go  to  the  aged 
head  of  a  family,  and  behold  him  incapable  of  exercis 
ing  any  influence  over  his  own  offspring,  who  have 
never  been  taught  the  divine  mission  of  Christ ;  to  the 
neglected  wife,  who  weeps  over  the  cruel  and  mortify 
ing  treatment  experienced  from  a  depraved  partner, 
and  see  her  endeavoring  to  forget  her  griefs  at  public 
amusements,  at  cards,  or  elsewhere,  ignorant  of,  be 
cause  never  taught,  the  only  balm  that  can  restore 
peace  to  the  most  embittered  soul ;  to  the  injured  hus 
band,  and  there  witness  a  similar  hollow  wretchedness 
of  the  heart,  searching  vainly  for  the  relief  he  knows 
not  how  to  search  for  aright ;  or,  what  is  more  proba 
ble,  behold  him  plunged  in  the  most  deadly  course  of 
debauchery  and  vice. 

Leaving  the  cities,  go  to  the  country,  and  see  the 
poor  African,  condemned  to  a  toil  not  less  incessant 
than  severe — doomed  to  remain  forever  sunk  in  the  im- 
bruted  ignorance  in  which  he  was  torn  from  his  native 
and  distant  land — adoring  a  serpent— and  encouraged 
to  suicide,  by  the  superstition  which  he  believes,  of  the 
immediate  return  of  his  body  to  Africa  after  death. 
Few  of  them  are  baptized  ;  scarcely  any  married  ;  but 
they  live  together  for  the  most  part  in  the  most  disgust 
ing  habits  of  promiscuous  intercourse ;  while  none  are 
ever  instructed  in  the  consoling  and  humanizing  truths 
of  the  Gospel.  Look  farther  around  to  the  white  la 
borer  who  commands  the  negro  as  overseer  or  mayoral, 
or  who  tills  a  piece  of  land,  or  who  moves  along  the 
road  with  his  cart  or  draught  horses  ;  look,  too,  at  the 
countryman's  family — and  every  where  will  be  found 
the  same  indifference,  and  in  general  worse  than  indif 
ference,  the  same  sneering  contempt  of  all  that  their 
ancestors  revered  as  holy. 


THE  CUBANS.  155 

The  gentry  also — the  masters  of  estates — the  officers 
of  government — nay,  the  very  priests  themselves — ex 
hibit  the  same  painful  picture  of  an  all-pervading,  all- 
demoralizing  infidelity.  The  country  curates  may,  in 
general,  and  as  a  class,  be  set  down  as  an  example  of 
all  that  is  corrupt  in  immorality,  all  that  is  disgusting 
in  low  and  brutal  vice.  Of  the  number  there  is  one — 
Don  Felix  del  Pino — too  notorious,  too  illiterate,  and 
too  shameless  to  care  for  even  this  publication  of  his 
name,  whose  career  presents  so  shocking  and  frightful 
an  example  of  vice  that  I  will  mention  a  few  of  its 
characteristic  traits,  as  a  proof  of  what  is  possible  in 
the  island  of  Cuba  at  the  present  day.  This  man, 
who  is  the  curate  of  an  interior  town,  is  in  the  habit  of 
exacting  $200  for  an  insignificant  pretended  attempt  at 
the  great  ceremonies  of  a  funeral.  On  one  occasion,  at 
a  meeting  of  his  low  associates,  he  announced  that  he 
was  preparing  for  a  pleasure  trip  to  the  city  of  Havana, 
and  in  reply  to  their  inquiries  as  to  the  pecuniary 
means  on  which  he  relied  for  that  object,  he  simply 
answered,  that  a  certain  respectable  old  woman,  whom 
he  named,  was  on  the  eve  of  death,  and  that  her 
funeral  expenses  would  supply  him  the  means.  Having 
afterward  ascertained  that  she  was  unexpectedly  im 
proving,  he  vowed  that  she  should  die,  and  hastened  to 
her  bedside,  where,  prostituting  the  rights  of  his  sacred 
ministry,  he  labored  to  dissuade  her  from  any  hopes  of 
recovery,  and  harassed  her  mind  with  such  agonizing 
and  terrible  pictures,  in  such  a  tone,  and  with  such 
evidently  evil  design,  that  the  friends  of  the  poor 
despairing  suiferer  felt  compelled  to  interfere,  and 
rescue  her  from  his  guilty  hands.  On  another  occasion 
he  informed  a  couple  who  wished  to  marry,  but  whose 
family  relation  of  consanguinity  required  a  dispensation 
from  Rome,  that  he  could  obtain  the  grant  for  that 
purpose  at  Havana.  He  therefore  went  to  that  city, 
and  shortly  afterward  returned  with  the  full  license,  as 
he  pretended,  to  perform  the  marriage  >  to  which,  how- 


156  CUBA    AND 

ever,  he  insisted  on  naming  the  attesting  witnesses,  or 
the  godfather  and  godmother  of  the  ceremony.  He 
accordingly  married  the  parties,  and  received  six  hun 
dred  dollars  as  his  reward.  When  the  couple,  at  a 
later  da}r,  discovered  that  no  such  authority  could  be 
procured  at  Havana,  and  that  they  had  been  made  the 
victims  of  a  foul  deception,  they  called  on  him  and  were 
met  by  a  cool  denial  of  his  having  had  any  thing  to  do 
in  the  matter  ;  in  support  of  which  he  exhibited  his 
books,  where  he  had  carefully  omitted  to  set  down  the 
case.  He  was,  however,  arrested  for  a  time  in  con 
sequence,  but  no  more  serious  penalty  ever  ensued. 
His  last  act  was  one  which,  indeed,  can  hardly  be 
credited,  though  its  truth  is  beyond  question.  In  a 
letter  coarsely  written,  in  the  most  obscene  and  re 
volting  language,  to  his  brother  in  Havana,  he  expa 
tiates  on  the  violation  of  a  young  white  female,  for 
whom  he  had  paid  to  her  own  father,  and  says  that  on 
the  occasion  of  his  first  possession  of  her,  he  had  or 
dered  the  bells  of  his  church  to  be  rung  !  The  signa 
ture  of  the  letter  he  acknowledged  to  be  his  ;  and  the 
young  girl,  only  thirteen  years  of  age,  was  found  at  his 
house,  and  the  truth  of  the  case  so  fully  proved  by  her 
testimony,  and  other  corroborating  evidences,  as  to 
cause  the  imprisonment  of  the  father,  and  the  suspen 
sion  of  the  priest  from  the  office  so  foully  scandalized. 
Of  course,  it  must  not  be  understood  that  there  are 
many  priests  in  Cuba  who  have  reached  such  a  depth 
of  corruption  as  is  exhibited  by  this  revolting  and  hid 
eous  instance ;  but  the  general  degradation  of  the  clergy 
and  the  church,  and  the  deep  demoralization  of  the 
country  where  such  a  monster  is  not  at  once  visited 
with  signal  punishment,  must  be  sad  indeed.  This 
wretch  may,  on  the  contrary,  be  seen  even  now,  though 
suspended  from  his  parish  cure,  attending  in  his  cleri 
cal  robes  on  the  public  ceremonies  of  the  Church  at 
Havana ! 

The  responsibility  of  this  dreadful  state  of  things, 


THE    CUBANS.  157 

in  reference  to  the  religious  and  moral  condition  of  the 
island  of  Cuba,  should  not  be  considered  as  resting 
upon  the  Romish  Church  or  creed.  It  would  be  illib 
eral  indeed  to  carry  to  so  unjust  a  length  those  preju 
dices  of  Protestantism  which  are  doubtless  founded  in 
reason,  and  which  cannot  but  be  stimulated  to  a  great 
degree  at  the  exhibition  of  Roman  Catholicism  in  Cuba. 
Yet  in  the  United  States  no  one  can  deny  that  it  is  a 
very  different  institution,  both  in  its  spirit  and  its  prac 
tice,  from  that  which  is  presented  to  the  eye  of  the 
most  superficial  observer  in  Cuba.  The  Church  prop 
er  is  not  the  responsible  cause,  but  the  corrupt  political 
government  which  has  invaded  its  domain,  paralyzed  all 
its  good  energies,  corrupted  its  entire  organization,  and 
poisoned  its  very  fountains  of  spiritual  purity.  The 
central  military  despotism,  in  the  hands  of  the  Spanish 
officials,  clustered  in  and  about  the  palace  of  the  cap 
tain-general,  may  be  said  to  have  absorbed  to  itself  the 
Church,  with  every  other  good  institution  possessed  by 
the  island  in  its  better  days.  Its  influence  has  been 
destroyed,  its  revenues  and  property,  together  with  all 
the  patronage  of  ecclesiatical  appointments,  appropriat 
ed  by  the  government.  The  nominations  to  all  religious 
offices  are  made,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  the  creatures 
of  the  government,  and  given,  directly  or  indirectly,  to 
the  creatures  of  the  government.  The  very  members 
of  the  chapter  of  the  cathedral  at  Havana  are  now 
named  at  Madrid,  in  disregard  of  the  canonical  propo 
sals  from  the  board  according  to  law.  Day  after  day 
and  year  after  year  have  been  suffered  to  pass  without 
an  appointment  to  fill  the  long  vacant  bishopric  of 
Havana,  and  thirty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  sacra 
ment  of  confirmation,  as  it  is  termed  by  the  Roman 
Catholics,  has  been  administered  in  the  several  dis 
tricts  of  the  diocese,  which  should  be  regularly  visited 
once  a  year. 

In  short,  the  principal  reason  given  by  the  serious 
and  reflecting  Cubans  for  desiring  annexation  to  the 


158  CUBA    AND 

United  States,  is  derived  from  the  present  condition  of 
religious  and  moral  degradation  of  the  island.  It  only 
requires,  say  they,  the  fresh  air  of  liberty  and  light  of 
free  truth  to  be  let  in  upon  it,  to  secure  that  reform 
and  regeneration  which  should  be  the  object  of  the  hope 
land  desire  of  every  Christian  observer.  With  annexa 
tion  to  the  United  States,  will  come  the  free  Bible,  the 
free  Pulpit,  and  the  free  Press  ;  the  healthful  and 
stimulating  influence  of  Protestant  competition  in  the 
labors  of  the  spiritual  harvest ;  the  infusion  of  a  new 
spirit,  a  renovated  vitality,  into  the  moral  being  of  the 
population  of  Cuba,  now  corrupt  with  disease  and  pal 
sied  well  nigh  beyond  recovery.  Surely  the  Roman 
Catholic  clergy  and  community  of  the  United  States 
cannot  but  unite  in  the  desire,  which  must  be  to 
Protestants  an  anxious  one,  to  witness  the  termination 
of  this  miserable  and  scandalous  condition  of  a  neighbor 
ing  community — a  community  with  which  this  country 
is  already  connected  by  so  many  ties  of  interest  and 
intercourse,  and  which,  all  know  and  feel,  must  at  no 
very  distant  day  become  an  integral  portion  of  it. 
Ought  not,  then,  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  of  the 
United  States,  alive  to  the  dignity  attached  to  their 
ministry  in  America,  to  speak  out  in  the  name  of  those 
of  their  brethren  who,  by  the  corrupt  and  corrupting 
interference  of  civil  power,  have  become  careless  of  the 
holy  cause  which  they  do  not  even  profess  to  sustain  ? 
Ought  not  the  Pope,  whose  course  of  reform  brings  back 
the  Catholic  Church  to  the  earlier  period  of  her  career, 
when  she  was  the  natural  ally  of  the  poor  and  the 
oppressed,  to  be  made  to  know  that  there  is  a  portion 
of  his  wide-spread  flock,  purporting  to  obey  and  follow 
his  Christian  standard,  who  are  yet  sunk  deep  in  the 
abyss  of  infidelity  and  vice  ?  When  in  that  beautiful 
island,  so  bountifully  favored  by  God,  the  family  circle 
shall  once  more  be  comforted  by  the  cheering  peace  of 
Christianity — when  the  master  shall  learn  to  cherish  a 
Christian  care  for  the  slave  who  is  now  treated  by  him 


THE    CUBANS.  159 

as  a  brute  beast  of  burden  and  labor — and  when  the 
latter  shall  be  rescued  by  Christian  instruction  from 
the  superstitions  and  practices  of  his  present  state  of 
heathen  destitution,  and  taught  the  precious  lesson  of 
Christian  hope  for  the  future,  and  Christian  comfort  in 
the  sad  present,  then  what  grateful  and  fervent  hymns 
of  praise  shall  arise  from  hearts  now  ignorant  of  their 
own  immortal  nature  and  destiny,  mingled  with  prayers 
in  which  will  not  be  forgotten  the  names  of  all  such  as 
shall  now  bestow  on  them  one  look  of  sympathy,  and 
extend  a  helping  hand  to  bring  them  out  of  their  pres 
ent  bondage. 


160  CUBA    AND 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Public  Education. — Attempts  to  falsify  Statements. — Official  Items 
from  the  Census  of  1841. — Schools  pillaged  by  the  Treasury. — 
Saco's  Parallel  between  the  Spanish  and  British  Colonies. — De 
gradation  and  Ignorance  in  the  Country  Regions. — Frightful  Pic 
tures  of  Vice. 

THE  organs  of  the  Spanish  administration  may  boast 
of  progress  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  and  endeavor  to 
hide  the  deficiencies  of  public  education  by  tedious  and 
sophistical  reasoning.  Of  late  this  has  been  attempted 
with  an  earnestness  which  bore  evidence  on  its  face  of  a 
conscious  desire  to  produce  an  untrue  impression.  But 
why  not  silence,  in  the  face  of  the  world,  the  com 
plaints  of  the  Cubans  with  statistical  numbers,  and 
the  report  of  facts  which  come  naturally  within  their 
reach  ?  It  is  true  that  the  census  has  not  been  taken, 
or  at  least  published,  since  1841 ;  but  whose  fault  is 
it?  It  is  also  true  that  the  committees  lately  ap 
pointed  by  the  government,  are  ignorant  and  lukewarm 
— whose  fault?  It  is  also  a  fact  that  the  officials 
authorized  for  the  purpose,  are  not  furnished  with 
adequate  supplies  to  carry  out  the  object  of  dif 
fusing  knowledge  among  the  poor ;  but  again,  whose 
fault? 

The  condition  of  education  in  the  island  is  here  ex 
hibited  by  appealing  to  the  official  items.  It  must  at 
the  same  time  be  borne  in  mind  that  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  country  and  people,  would  bring  to 
light  many  facts  of  daily  occurrence,  which,  with  the 
open  immorality  of  the  multitude,  and  the  ignorance 
stamped  upon  their  countenances,  must  strengthen  the 


THE    CUBANS. 


161 


conviction  that  however  erroneous  these  official  items 
may  be,  a  correction  of  them  would  present  a  still 
more  revolting  picture. 

The  census  of  1841  gives  the  following  results  as 
regards  the  free  and  slave  population  : 

White  inhabitants 41 8,291 

Free  mulattoes 88,054 

Free  black 64,784 

Total  free -     571,129 

Mulatto  slaves 10,974 

Black  slaves 425,521* 

Total  slaves 436,495 

Transient  population 38,000 

1,045,624 

The  number  of  schools,  according  to  the  most 
recent  and  certainly  the  most  favorable  accounts, 
amounted  to 

Of  white  male  children 129 

"  "  female  »  79 

Of  colored  male  "  6 

"  '«  female  "  » 8 

In  all 222 

Those  receiving  instruction  in  them  were 

White  boys 6025 

«  girls 2417 

Colored  boys 460 

"  girls i 180 

From  this  data,  it  results  that  through  the  whole  isl 
and  222  schools  existed,  and  that  9082  free  children, 
of  all  classes,  were  instructed  in  them.  Of  this  num- 

*  There  is  little  doubt  that  this  number  should  be  augmented  by 
one  third  to  make  it  correct. 


162  CUBA    AND 

ber,  it  is  all-important  to  observe  that  5325  paid  their 
schools,  and  that  3T57  was  the  pitiful  number  under 
gratuitous  tuition.  Of  the  latter,  540  were  supported 
by  the  branches  of  the  once  comparatively  nourishing 
"  Sociedad  Patriotica,"  whose  resources  were  derived 
from  personal  subscription  of  the  members  or  voluntary 
taxation  of  the  citizens  ;  2111  by  local  subscriptions  or 
taxes  ;  and  1106  gratuitously  taught  by  the  professors, 
through  the  suggestions  of  the  society,  or  other  func 
tionaries,  whose  request  might  almost  be  considered  as 
actual  command. 

The  census  also  shows  the  number  of  free  children 
between  the  ages  of  five  and  fifteen,  to  be  99,599  ;  of 
whom,  as  before  stated,  9082  are  only  educated,  and 
that  chiefly  by  private  means  and  efforts.  Scarcely  ten 
per  cent,  of  those  requiring  instruction  receive  it,  four 
per  cent,  of  whom  by  public  contributions,  and  not  any 
by  appropriations  from  the  general  treasury.  On  the 
contrary,  so  far  from  receiving  aid  from  the  treasury, 
the  schools  have  been  pillaged  by  it ;  for  when  the  cus 
tom-houses  have  taken  charge  of  collecting  the  local 
taxes  established  for  public  instruction,  ten  per  cent, 
commission  has  been  deducted  for  the  service,  and  large 
sums  imposed  on  commerce  and  trade  for  this  object, 
have  been,  and  are  to  this  day,  withheld  and  unaccount 
ed  for  by  the  treasury.  When  the  enormous  amount 
of  Cuban  taxation,  as  explained  in  another  part  of  this 
volume,  is  considered,  who  can  restrain  his  indignation 
that  with  at  least  twenty-two  millions  of  dollars  of  im 
posts — an  equivalent  to  $38  77cts.  to  each  free  soul — 
the  first  duty  of  a  civilized  government  should  be  so 
dishonorably  neglected. 

By  referring  to  the  above  items,  and  those  found  in 
Mr.  Saco's  "  Parallel  between  the  Spanish  and  British 
Colonies,"  the  following  discouraging  comparison  is 
drawn : 


THE    CUBANS.  163 

Number  of  children  educated  in  propor 
tion  to  the  whole  free  population. 

In  the  Bahama  Islands 1831 1  to  every  16 

St.  Vincent's 1830 1       «         19 

Jamaica 1827 1       «         18 

Antigua 1830 1       ««  5 


St.  Christopher's* 1 

Lower  Canada 1832 1 

Nova  Scotia 1832 ] 

Prince  Edward's 1832 1 

Terra  Nova 1834 1 

Mauritius 1 

Presidency  of  Madras  . .  1834 1 

And  the  island  of  Cuba  . . .  ^.  1 


11 
]2 
10 
14 

8 
11 

5 
63 


By  withdrawing  from  the  Patriotic  Society,  estab 
lished  under  the  most  favorable  auspices,  first,  its 
very  name,  that  the  word  patriotic  might  be  erased 
from  the  colonial  vocabulary ;  then,  the  care  of  watch 
ing  over,  and  directing  public  education ;  and,  lastly, 
the  resources  voted  by  the  citizens  from  the  origin  of 
the  corps — the  most  sacred  cause,  one  always  com 
manding  the  noble  excitement  and  enthusiasm  of  phi 
lanthropy,  has  been  placed  in  the  sordid  and  debased 
hands  of  the  officials  of  a  venal  and  corrupt  adminis 
tration.  Were  this  the  sole  grievance  inflicted  on 
Cuba,  by  Spanish  despotism,  no  greater  motive  could 
inspire  the  bold  cry  of  her  indignant  sons  against  tyr 
anny  so  oppressive. 

Let  not  the  traveler,  from  whatever  land  he  may 
have  approached  that  island,  even  though  he  be  a  na 
tive  of  the  beautiful  Spanish  peninsula,  discredit  the 
sad  truths  which  are  here  recorded.  But  should  the 
enormity  of  the  evil  induce  a  momentary  doubt  of  its 
existence,  let  him.  visit  the  comfortless  home  of  the 
village  poor,  and  there  witness  the  most  convincing 
proof  of  what  is  here  affirmed.  He  will  find  the  vil 
lager,  like  all  his  humble  associates,  continually  called 
to  do  public  duty,  for  which  not  even  thanks  are  ex- 

*  There  is  a  slight  inaccuracy  regarding  this  island. 


164  CUBA    AND 

pected;  while  there  is  no  individual  service  he  de 
mands  of  society  for  which  he  is  not  made  to  pay 
dearly.  His  children,  in  the  mean  time,  wander 
around  amidst  vice  and  filth;  both  parent  and  child 
exhibiting  a  benighted  ignorance  which  is  absolutely 
unparalleled.  Not  a  feeling  calculated  to  ennoble  his 
nature,  finds  a  place  in  the  heart ;  vice,  in  no  instance, 
is  regarded  with  aversion,  for  its  deformity  is  not  even 
perceived.  Alas,  for  the  community  affording  pictures 
of  human  degradation  so  revolting.  And  what  shall 
be  said  of  a  government  on  which  the  awful  responsi 
bility  rests  of  causing,  of  promoting,  and  of  perpetuat 
ing  so  much  moral  hideousness  and  desolation  ! 


THE    CUBANS.  165 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Cuban  Grievances. — Personal  Liberty. — Personal  Security. — The 
Right  of  Property. — Instances  of  exercise  of  despotic  Power. — 
Seiior  Saco. — Number  deported  and  banished  by  Tacon. — The 
same  System  continued. — Taxation  in  Cuba. — Details. — Summary 
of  Grievances. 

THROUGHOUT  the  preceding  chapters  continued  allu 
sion  has  been  made  to  the  wrongs  and  grievances 
which  the  Cubans  are  forced  to  endure,  and  the  de 
spotic  sway  with  which  the  island  is  governed.  It  is 
proposed,  in  the  present  chapter,  to  enter  more  in  de 
tail  upon  these  wrongs  and  grievances,  that  the  world 
may  judge  between  the  island  and  her  rulers.  This  is 
a  subject  that  can  no  longer  be  shirked  by  Spain. 
Either  Cuba  has  a  right  to  redress,  or  she  has  not ; 
and  that  question  cannot  properly  be  settled  by  the 
voice  of  mankind,  without  a  fair  investigation  of  the 
causes  of  complaint. 

In  the  Declaration  of  Independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  the  right  of  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness,  is  claimed  for  all  men.  A  less 
rhetorical,  but  a  more  definite,  proposition  is  laid 
down  by  the  great  English  commentator,  in  his  divi 
sion  of  rights,  into  the  right  of  personal  liberty — the 
right  of  personal  security — and  the  right  of  property. 
The  Cubans  are  deprived  of  all  these. 

The  liberty  of  the  person  is  constantly  violated,  and 
often  with  no  other  warrant  than  the  arbitrary  order  of 
the  meanest  official,  and  from  which  no  redress  can  be 
obtained,  except  by  means  of  heavy  bribes. 

During  and  since  the  time  of  Tacon,  the  seizure  and 
immediate  deportation  of  persons  of  respectability  and 
distinction,  were,  and  have  been,  of  common  occurrence, 


166  CUBA    AND 

and  this  without  a  hearing  of  the  party  accused,  and 
without  granting  any  opportunity  for  defence. 

Individuals,  for  the  slightest  possible  causes  of  of 
fence — often,  indeed,  without  any  cause  whatever — are 
seized  and  banished  from  the  island,  or,  what  is  still 
worse,  are  incarcerated  in  loathsome  prisons. 

One  of  the  most  flagrant  acts  of  despotism  was  the 
deportation,  by  Tacon,  of  Senor  Saco,  a  man  univer 
sally  known  and  esteemed  in  the  island  for  his  high 
character  and  unblemished  reputation,  for  his  benevo 
lence  and  philanthropy,  and  for  his  attachments  to  Cu 
ban  interests.  All  these,  however,  were  of  no  avail 
against  the  tyrannical  exercise  of  arbitrary  power. 

Within  a  period  of  little  more  than  eighteen  months, 
about  200  persons  were  deported,  and  about  700  ban 
ished  for  life,  from  the  island  by  Tacon.  These  acts 
of  despotism  are  continued,  with  more  or  less  frequen 
cy,  to  the  present  time. 

Innumerable  instances  might  be  named  to  sustain  an 
assertion  which  no  one  will  venture  to  contradict. 

So  far  from  affording  personal  security  to  the  Cuban, 
the  government  has  taken  every  method  to  endanger  it, 
under  the  pretence  that  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the  na 
tive  inhabitants  in  a  state  of  constant  apprehension  in 
order  to  insure  their  continued  allegiance.  To  this 
end,  every  kind  of  judicial  enormity  prevails,  and  every 
description  of  imposition  is  practiced  upon  the  helpless 
Creole.  If  he  commits  a  wrong  he  is  punished  with 
out  an  opportunity  of  being  heard  in  his  own  defence, 
or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  he  is  tried  before  a  preju 
diced  tribunal.  If  he  has  suffered  an  injury,  he  finds 
the  means  of  redress  so  tedious  that  endurance  is  pref 
erable  to  the  formidable  task  of  obtaining  justice. 
There  is  but  one  means  of  avoiding  persecution — but 
one  way  of  escape  when  persecuted — but  one  method 
to  obtain  justice  when  seeking  ordinary  redress.  It  is 
by  bribery.  Gold  will  open  prison  doors,  procure  dis 
pensation  for  falsely  imputed  crimes,  obtain  a  tardy 


THE    CUBANS.  167 

decree  of  long-sought  justice.  Thus  personal  security 
is  only  to  be  enjoyed  at  the  expense  of  the  right  of 
property,  which  brings  the  third  division  of  rights  to 
be  specially  considered. 

The  plan  of  robbery  and  plunder — it  can  be  called 
by  no  milder  name — has  been  reduced  to  so  complete  a 
system,  and  that  system  has  been  brought  to  such  a 
state  of  perfection,  that  it  will  be  more  satisfactory  to 
undertake  the  subject  in  its  details. 

Without  enlarging  upon  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
legal  remedies,  and  the  insecurity  attending  the  posses 
sion  of  property  when  claims  are  made  against  it  by 
those  in  favor  with  the  government,  it  is  proposed  to 
examine  the  method  of  taxation  now  adopted  in  Cuba, 
and  also  its  extent  and  operation. 

Whatever  may  be  the  cause  of  the  mystery  in  which 
the  gross  amount  of  taxation  is  involved,  it  is  a  fact 
that  the  publications  which  are  made  by  the  local  ad 
ministration  neither  comprehend  the  whole  range  of 
taxes,  nor  do  they  generally  affix  to  each  head  any  thing 
more  than  the  balance  subject  to  the  control  of  the  gen 
eral  treasury.  We  commence  the  list  by  the  official 
statement  of  1844.  which  is  mainly  composed  of  bal 
ances  of  different  taxes,  the  chief  names  of  which  are 
the  following : 

Alcabala  (or  six  per  cent,  on  sales  of  real  estate,  of 
slaves,  on  auction  sales,  on  sales  in  shops). 

Bulls  of  the  Pope. 

Brokers'  tax. 

Cattle  tax. 

Shopkeepers'  tax. 

Tax  on  mortgages. 

Tax  on  donations. 

Tax  on  cockfighting. 

Tax  on  grants  of  crosses,  or  uses  of  uniform,  etc. 

Tax  on  promissory  notes,  or  bills  of  exchange. 

Tax  on  the  municipal  taxes,  yearly  tribute  of  the 
counts,  marquises,  and  other  titles. 


168  CUBA    AND 

Tax  on  all  deaths  of  non-insolvent  persons. 

Tax  on  investments  in  favor  of  the  clergy,  sale  of  the 
public  offices,  sealed  paper,  penalties  in  favor  of  the 
royal  household. 

Tax  on  the  property  of  the  Jesuits,  sales  of  public 
lands. 

Tax  on  establishment  of  auctioneers. 

Tax  (four  per  cent.)  on  law  expenses. 

Water  canal  tax,  royal  order  of  Charles  III.,  etc. 

To  this  must  of  course  be  added  the  custom-house 
duties  on  imports  and  exports,  and  tonnage  on  vessels. 

The  proceeds  of  the  revenue  for  the  year 
1844,  comprehending  the  custom-houses,  mar 
itime  and  inland,  of  the  Provinces  of  Havana, 
St.  Jago,  and  Puerto  Principe,  and  net  pro 
ceeds  of  lottery  tax,  and  balance  of  tax  on 
religious  orders,  are,  according  to  the  before- 
named  official  statement $10,693,626  01 

To  the  above  must  be  added  the  amount 
expended  on  smuggled  goods  which  have  been 
paid  to  those  concerned  in  the  act  without  any 
material  relief  to  the  consumer.  In  the  official 
statement  above  referred  to,  $7,364,005  is  the 
amount  given  for  maritime  duties  ;  and  deduct 
ing  one  fifth  for  tonnage  charges,  we  have  left 
$5,891, '204  for  duties  on  imports  and  exports. 
As  a  moderate  calculation,  add  one  fifth  of  this 
sum  for  what  is  paid  on  smuggled  goods 1  178,240  00 

The  lottery  tax,  though  called  voluntary,  is 
no  less  a  burden,  and  the  greatest  incentive  to 
idleness  and  dishonesty  amongst  the  poorer 
classes,  and  especially  among  the  slaves.  The 
ancient  custom  of  purchasing  freedom  is  be 
coming  almost  obsolete  among  the  latter — their 
hopes  being  exclusively  fixed  on  the  freaks  of 
fortune,  which,  as  it  may  well  be  supposed,  do 
not  always  favor  the  most  worthy,  and  there 
fore  the  most  capable  of  enjoying  the  rights  of 
freemen.  35,000  tickets  at  $4,  in  sixteen 
drawings,  and  20,000  tickets  at  $16,  in  one 

$11,871,866  01 


THE    CUBANS.  169 

$11,871,866  01 
drawing,  make  the  whole  sum  drained  from 

the  public  in  one  year $2,560,000 

There  being  a  scandalous  conni 
vance  to  prevent  the  public  from 
obtaining  tickets  from  the  offices, 
64  per  cent,  additional  must  be 
added ._ 160,000 

2,720,000 
Less  the  amount  included  in  the 

official  statement 761,000 

1,959,000  00 

The  post-office  expenses,  which  left,  in 
1843,  a  balance  to  the  treasury  of  $5734  01£, 
amounted  to  $997,341,  according  to  Sagra,  in 
1830.  Since  then  the  population,  which  in 
1827  was  730,562,  according  to  this  writer, 
who  was  officially  employed,  and  is  a  native 
European,  has  increased  to  1,045,000.  The 
country  surrounding  Cardenas,  Jucaro,  Sagua 
la  Grande,  and  San  Juan  de  los  Remedios, 
and  Nuevitas,  has  also  greatly  increased,  and 
correspondence  as  well ;  new  branches  have 
been  established  to  convey  the  mails,  so  that 
it  will  be  quite  safe  to  calculate  upon  half  a 
million  increase,  calling  it  now 1,500,000  00 

Census  on  land,  according  to  the  same 
Sagra 4,000,000  00 

The  4  per  cent,  on  law  expenses  in  the 
statement  commencing  this  calculation,  gives 
the  sum  of  $62,240  ;  but  as  10  per  cent,  is 
deducted  previously  as  a  commission  in  favor 
of  the  revenue,  the  amount  received  in  the 
treasury  is  really  $69,155,  which 

by  25  is $1,728,875 

Deducting  the  sum  included  in  the 

statement 62,240 

1,666,635  00 

The  municipal  taxes  received  by  the  corpo 
rations  from  those  who  purchase  the  right  of 
collecting  them,  amounted,  according  to  the 
memoirs  of  the  Economical  Society  and  the 


$20,997,501  01 


170  CUBA    AND 

$20,997,501 

Faro  Industrial  of  the  5th  June  1847,  with 

reference  to  the  year  1843 — 

For  the  Province  of  Havana,  . . .   $552,577  75 

"  ««  St.  Jago...     101,063  00 

"  »  P.  Principe      76,997  25 


730,638  00 

To  this,  in  order  to  cover  expenses 
of  collection,  and  profit  to  the  spec 
ulator,  add  25  per  cent 182,659  00 


$913,297  00 

Apart  from  these  municipal  taxes 
received  by  the  corporation,  there 
may  be  others  received  by  the  veiy 
contractors  who  supply  the  object 
of  its  creation.  There  is  one  called 
the  "  limpieza,"  or  cleaning  of  the 
city,  which  the  same  Faro  Indus 
trial  values  at 53,400  00 

This  gives  for  municipal  taxes,  at 

least 966,697  00 

The  next  tax,  is  that  in  favor  of  the  algua- 
zils- mayor,  as  far  as  it  weighs  on  cattle  and 
animals. 

This  charge  was  originally  allowed  by  the 
crown  iii  compensation  of  certain  pecuniary 
services.  In  the  course  of  time  those  services 
have  become  insignificant,  and  more  than  paid 
by  the  country.  For  large  cattle,  $1,25  each 
must  be  paid  to  him,  and  $4,75  to  the  crown ; 
and  more  or  less,  in  the  same  proportion, 
for  smaller  animals.  The  true  items  not 
having  ever  been  published,  the  amount  of 
$652,408  is  adopted,  which  the  above  quoted 
Faro  Industrial  fixes  as  the  government  tax  in 
the  island  on  cattle,  and  for  the  proportion  as 
follows:  As  the  duty,  $4,75,  is  to  the  $1,25 
alguazil-mayor  charge,  so  is  $652,408  to  the 
whole  amount  of  charges  of  alguazils-mayor  in 
the  island 171,475  00 

The  licenses  given  by  the  captain -general, 

$22,135,673  01 


THE    CUBANS.  171 

$22,135,673  01 

governors  of  towns,  and  captains  of  county  dis 
tricts,  is  another  subject  of  heavy  taxation. 
The  negro  slaves,  or  their  masters  for  them, 
are  frequently  subject  to  it;  but  to  simplify 
the  estimate,  take  the  amount  of  the  free 
population,  which,  in  the  census  of  1841, 
ranges  thus : 

White, 418,291 

Free  Colored, 88,054 

Free  Negroes, 64,784 

571,129 

Supposing  one  fifth  of  this  number 
to  be  heads  of  families  forced  to  have 
a  license,  the  number  will  be 114,225 

50  cents  for  the  certificate  of  the  commissary 
of  the  ward,  and  31i  for  the  signature  of  the 
magistrate,  viz.,  81£ 92,807  81 

But  as  the  above  does  not  comprehend  the 
whole  of  the  licenses  given  for  separate  excur 
sions,  suppose  that  only  one  fifth  of  the  number 
before  accounted  for  shall  make  one  single  trip 
in  the  year,  say  22,845  individuals,  at  only 
31^  cents 7,139  0€ 

Another  charge  of  this  nature  is  that  on 
passports,  for  which  take  the  amount  of 
38,000  individuals,  given  in  the  census  of  1841 
as  garrison  and  transient  population,  and  de 
ducting  18,000  for  troops,  there  will  6e  left 
20,000  ;  of  which,  from  the  number  of  crews, 
and  other  causes,  suppose  that  only  6000  pass 
ports  are  given.  The  charge  made  is  $1,50 
for  the  captain-general,  or  other  subaltern 
governor,  $1  for  the  warden's  report  and 
sealed  paper,  and  $2,75  for  the  certificate  of 
the  judge  of  property  of  absent  heirs ;  in  all 
$5,25;  amounting  to,  for  the  6000 
mentioned $31,500 

But  out  of  this  number,  2000,  it  is 
fair  to  suppose,  will  apply  for  the  pass 
port  to  the  "  agencia,"  an  office  kept 
by  military  officers  who  have  remark- 


$22,235,619  88 


172  CUBA    AND 

$22,235,619  88 
$31,500 

able  advantages  in  procuring  ready- 
made  passports  for  $8,50  apiece, 
which,  less  than  $5,25,  leaves  $3,25.  6,500 

38,000  00 

The  crown  derives  another  source  of  revenue 
from  the  sale  of  offices,  vendibles,  and  renun- 
ciables,  that  are  subject  to  being  sold  or  re 
nounced  in  favor  of  another  person.  In  the 
statement  of  inland  customs  and  revenue  for 
the  year  1843,  the  sales  of  the  kind  were  sta 
ted  to  amount  to  $92,737  ;  but  whatever  the 
sum  of  the  present  year  may  be,  it  is  sup 
posed  to  be  included  in  the  official  statement  or 
first  item  commencing  this  estimate.  Among 
the  many  offices  of  this  kind,  are  the  alguazils- 
mayor,  whose  various  fees  are  counted  in  the 
law  expenses  and  in  the  slaughter  of  cattle, 
both  herein  estimated.  Another  of  them  is 
the  fiel  executor,  also  a  member  of  the  cor 
poration,  whose  duty  is  to  examine  the  weights 
and  measures  of  all  retail  and  wholesale  deal 
ers,  visiting  the  different  stores.  It  is  assumed 
that  the  one  holding  this  office  in  the  city 
of  Havana,  which  gives  a  handsome  income  for 
a  family,  renders  $8000  net,  which  is  equal  to 
$12,000  on  the  country,  to  pay  clerks  and  other 
expenses  ;  and  judging  that  the  corporation 
taxes  of  Havana,  $384,000,  will  bear  to  $730,- 
000,  and  the  taxes  of  similar  nature  of  the 
whole  island,  the  same  proportion,  it  follows 
that  all  the  fiel  executors  will  amount  to 22,812  00 

The  government  has  also  sold  archives  for 
notaries,  where  deeds  are  entered  and  re 
corded.  There  may  be  presumed  to  be  about 
fifty  in  the  whole  island,  and  to  be  sold  from 
3000  to  50,000  dollars  apiece.  Although  the 
latter  price  is  nearer  the  general  one  than  the 
former,  the  majority  may  be  much  beneath 
it ;  adopting  the  price  of  $15,000  as  the  true 
rate  for  the  whole,  it  gives  $750,000.  They 
are  very  productive,  and  must  be  so,  on  ac- 

$22,296,431  88 


THE    CUBANS.  173 

$22,296,431  88 

count  of  the  peculiar  conditions  of  all  offices, 
vendibles,  and  renunciables,  which,  whenever 
they  pass  from  one  possessor  to  another,  or 
even  to  the  lawful  heir,  leave  a  portion  of  their 
price  in  favor  of  the  crown.  They  are  also 
subject  to  confiscation,  when  a  monthly  in 
junction  of  a  renouncing  deed  is  neglected  ; 
and  there  are  even  days  each  month  in  which 
should  the  death  of  the  proprietor  take  place, 
the  crown  takes  back  its  grant.  This  also  ap 
plies  to  the  alguazils-mayor,  fiel  executor,  etc. 
Great  profits  must  be  the  recompense  of  such 
disadvantageous  conditions.  It  is  not  there 
fore  an  exaggeration  to  suppose  these  ar 
chives  to  produce  forty  per  cent.,  of  which 
sum  we  consider  ten  per  cent,  the  just  price 
of  the  service ;  and  the  remaining  thirty  per 
cent,  is  the  penalty  which  the  community  pays 
in  extra  charges  for  the  resources  anticipated 
to  government  at  these  monstrous  sales. — 
$750,000  at  thirty  per  cent 225,000  00 

Fines  which  are  constantly  imposed  by  sub 
altern  officers  of  justice  in  Cuba  will  con 
tinually  strike  the  eye  of  a  foreigner,  on 
looking  over  the  Havana  newspapers.  The 
infractions  of  the  by-laws  are  the  pretexts; 
but  the  menials  of  government  are  guided  often 
by  a  thirst  for  money,  which  excludes  a  just  and 
impartial  exercise,  since  they  are  interested 
by  having  a  portion  assigned  for  their  benefit. 
It  is  fair  to  compute  the  amount  of  fines  at 
$25,000  publicly  avowed,  and  $25,000  privately 
exacted  and  not  accounted  for.  That  the  above 
calculation  may  not  appear  altogether  arbitrary, 
it  may  be  added,  that  the  fines  of  the  royal 
household,  which  are  the  most  insignificant 
in  the  island,  amounted,  according  to  the  state 
ment  of  1843,  to  $10,881  50,000  00 

Fees  in  the  captain-general's  tribunal  are 
likewise  another  tax  not  included  in  any  other 
calculation.  The  present  captain-general  has 
designated  two  days  in  the  week  to  hear  actions 


$22,571,431  88 


174 


CUBA    AND 


verbally  established  and  decided  in  his  pres 
ence,  or  in  that  of  officers  whom  he  appoints 
in  his  lieu.  Persons  having  difficult  claims, 
who  do  not  find  in  the  usual  course  of  pro 
ceeding,  the  easy  attainment  of  their  object, 
apply  there,  and  orders  of  immediate  payment 
issue  often  in  utter  disregard  of  law,  or  tho 
state  in  which  the  case  may  be  in  another 
court.  No  pleadings,  but  the  order  of  pay 
ment,  under  threat  of  imprisonment,  consti 
tute  the  course  of  this  strange,  all-powerful 
judge.  Calculating  on  100  days  of  audience, 
in  which  he  or  his  delegates  hear  ten  suits 
each,  and  estimating  his  fee  at  $8,50  for  each, 
though  the  sum  may  not  publicly  be  acknow 
ledged,  it  will  give 

The  fish  and  meat  markets,  monopolized  by 
General  Tacon,  according  to  his  own  report, 
published  in  1838,  have  had  the  effect  of  ele 
vating  the  price  of  these  commodities  at  least 
thirty  per  cent.  The  yearly  consumption  of 
large  cattle,  being  86,000,  gives,  at 

this  estimate $1,500,000 

Suppose  smaller  animals  and  service 

one  sixth  of  this  value 250,000 


$22,571,431  88 


The  fish  consumed  can  be  at  least 
estimated  at  one  eighth  of  the 
meat,  viz 


1,750,000 


218,750 


$1,968,750 

And  thirty  per  cent,  on  this  sum  will  render  . . 
N.  B.  The  seller  of  cattle  obtains  only  $2,50 
for  each  arrobe  of  25  Ibs.  of  meat,  while  the 
consumer  pays  really,  whatever  may  be  pub 
lished  to  the  contrary,  $5,50.  Here,  then, 
is  a  measure  for  the  weight  of  the  monopoly. 
There  is  another  official  data  which  is  sub 
joined.  It  is  a  statement  published  by  General 
Tacon,  as  an  appendix  to  his  report  of  his  own 
acts,  containing  estimates  of  the  buildings  by 


8,500  00 


590,625  00 


$23,170,556  88 


THE    CUBANS. 


175 


him  reconstructed,  the  revenue  they  produced 
previously,  that  which  they  produce  now,  and 
that  which  they  would  produce  to  the  corpora 
tion  after  the  time  should  be  elapsed  for  which 
they  were  bound  to  the  contractors. 


$23,170,556  88 


Old 
Valuation.      Revenue. 

Present 
Revenue. 

Future 
He  venue. 

Fish  market                  $34,031  06,^ 

$864 

$864 

$7,000 

Christina  meat  mkt,    115,5-21  00>£  \ 
do.              do.            67,87fi  03     j 

•  8,712 

11,100 

38,100 

Slaughter  at  Tacon  Sq.  47,780  06 

7,800 

"               the  Jail,     480,640  04 

18,600 

18,600 

At  Governm't  Palace,   102,434  04 

2,400 

13,900 

$848,282  24  $11,976  $30,564  $85,400 

In  the  present  case,  this  exorbitant  rise  in 
the  rent  is  only  the  expression  of  the  forced 
monopoly,  unheard-of  petty  renting  of  apart 
ments  of  sale,  and  strict  severity  in  preventing 
tho  sales  elsewhere,  in  the  city  and  its  suburbs. 

In  the  general  statement  are  not  counted 
$4,25  per  death,  and  75  cts.  per  christening, 
and  generally  what  are  called  HEIST  A  OVKN- 
CIONAL,  which  Mr.  Sagra  calculated,  for  1830, 
at 

Private  extra  fees  demanded  for  marriages, 
under  various  pretences 

The  charge  for  renewing  what  is  called  the 
apprenticeship  of  emancipated  slaves,  an  au 
thority  de  facto  exercised  by  the  captain-gen 
eral,  is  $102  apiece.  Since  General  Valdez, 
whose  honorable  conduct  reflects  honor  on  his 
nation,  granted  about  3000  patents  of  freedom 
during  about  one  year,  it  may  be  supposed  that 
at  least  one  thousand  become  due  every  year  . 

The  custom  of  extraordinary  and  expensive 
services  on  the  death  of  a  relative,  imposing  a 
ruinous  tax  on  the  survivors,  is  another  source 
to  the  priesthood,  which  may  be  appreciated 
from  reading  the  by-laws  of  General  Valdez, 
regulating  the  prices  of  the  use  of  the  scaf 
folding,  carpets,  etc.  A  mortality  of  five  per 
cent,  on  the  418,000  white  inhabitants,  will 


250,000  00 
15,000  00 


102,000  00 


$23,537.556  88 


176  CUBA    AND 

$23,537,556  88 

give  20,900  deaths,  of  which  one  fourth  we 
may  suppose  capable  of  doing  something  to 
save  apparent  neglect  of  their  deceased  friends ; 
and  this  number,  5225,  if  only  calculated  at 
the  minimum  rate  of  $10  each,  is 52,250  00 

Tolls  on  the  bridge  of  Marianao 56,000  00 

Private  gifts  for  nominations  of  captains  of 
districts,  city  ward  commissaries,  watchmen, 
etc 10,000  00 

Permits  for  gambling,  etc.  (private) 50,000  00 

Tithes.  In  the  general  statement  which 
is  taken  as  guide,  summing  up  the  amounts  of 
the  revenue  in  1844,  two  main  divisions  are 
found — the  maritime  and  the  inland  taxes. 
There  is  no  specification  of  the  latter  cor 
responding  to  that  year  ;  but  in  the  year  pre 
ceding,  the  only  sum  belonging  to  tithes  as  a 
deposit,  was  $19,831  03. 

From  the  memoirs  of  the  Economical  So 
ciety,  are  subjoined  the  following  statements, 
which  were  also  published  in  the  Faro  above 
quoted  : 

Four  years  from  1833  to  1836 — 

Jurisdiction  of  Havana. 

1833  .         .         .         .  $227,780  00£ 

1834  ....       247,036  04| 

1835  ....       262,653  01 

1836  ....       246,102  04| 


$973,571  10i 
Jurisdiction  of  St.  Jago. 

1833  .    .        .  $50,260  04 

1834  ....    50,260  04 

1835  .  37,822  05| 

1836  ....    37,822  05| 


$176,164 
Four  years  from  1837  to  1840— 


$23,705,806  88 


THE    CUBANS.  177 

$23,705,806  88 


Jurisdiction  of  Havana. 

1837  ....  $220,438  07| 

1838  .    .    .    .   217,928  06| 

1839  .    .    .    .   190,164  00| 

1840  ....   186,555  06 


$815,085  20i 

Jurisdiction  of  St.  Jago. 

1837  .    .    .    .   $37,822  05| 

1838  .    .    .    .    37,822  05| 

1839  ....    49,547  00 

1840  ....    49,547  00 


$174,738  Hi 

Province  of  Havana,  first  four 
years, $973,571  10| 

Province  of  St.  Jago,  first 
four  years,  ....  176,164  19£ 


$1,149,735  29| 

Province  of  Havana,  second 
four  years,  ....  $815,085  20£ 

Province  of  St.  Jago,  second 
four  years,  ....  174,738  11£ 


989,823  32 
Total       .         .         .    $2,139,558  61| 


This  by  8  years,  gives         .       $267,444  82<| 

The  above  result,  having  been  obtained  un 
der  the  law  which  only  required  the  tax  on 
sugar  from  estates  founded  previously  to  1804, 
is  no  criterion  to  what  the  tithe  on  sugar  es 
tates  will  be  from  the  year  1847.  To  en 
deavor  to  fix  on  some  items  by  which  its 
present  product  can  be  calculated,  it  is  rie- 
cessar}'  to  know  what  is  the  relative  import 
ance  of  sugar  estates  compared  to  other  agri 
cultural  pursuits  subject  to  tithe.  For  this  pur- 


$23,705,806  88 


178  CUBA    AND 

$23,705,806  88 

pose,  take  from  Ramon  Sagra's  "  Breve  Idea," 
published  in  1836,  the  following  estimates: 

Capital  employed. 

For  raising  cattle,     .         .         .  $26,767,977 

Pastures 21,691,610 

Suirar  estates  ....     83,780,877 

Coffee     "  85,825,000 

Farms     ««  111,861,984 

Tobacco  vegas  (valleys),    .         .       6,532,420 

$336,459,868 

Sugar  consequently  represents  one  fourth 
Therefore  out  of  the  $267,358  tax  of  a  com 
mon  year,  $66,839  should  be  deducted,  as  cor 
responding  to  sugar,  and  the  remainder  will  be 

the  tithe  on  all  the  other  articles 200,519  00 

Now,  as  regards  the  tax  on  this  article, 
•which  according  to  the  new  law  has  commenced 
to  be  exacted,  and  is  2£  per  cent,  on  the 
gross  products  of  all  estates  not  having  had  fif 
teen  crops  (the  latter  being  exempted  during 
that  period,  provided  they  have  not  been  erect 
ed  on  woodlands),  take  the  crop  of  1834, 
which,  being  thirteen  years  ago,  may  be  sup 
posed  to  constitute  the  quantity  now  subject 
to  pay,  though  it  will  certainly  be  greater 
from  the  increase  of  each  individual  estate. 
In  that  year  the  chief  imports  were 
8,408,231  arrobas  of  sugar. 
1,817,315  "  coffee. 

104,213  hogsheads  of  molasses. 
In  the  year  1841 — 

13,082,288  arrobas  of  sugar. 
1,998,846          "         coffee. 

119,138  hogsheads  of  molasses. 
And  in  1843,  the  official  balance  gives  889,103 
boxes — equal  to  14,225,648  arrobas,  adding  to 
which  the  enormous  quantity  of  Moscavado 
sugar  in  the  districts  of  Sagua,  it  is  safe  to 
call  it,  with  the  subsequent  increase,  twenty 
millions  of  arrobns.  The  coffee  of  the  said 
year  was  1,631,782  arrobas,  and  191,093  hogs- 


$23,906,325  88 


THE    CUBANS.  179 

$23,906,325  88 

heads  of  molasses.  The  sugar  crop  is  now, 
therefore,  equivalent  to  1,25:2,000  boxes  of  six 
teen  arrobas  ;  and  that  of  1834,  say  8,500,000 
arrohas  to  531,250  boxes.  The  increase  which 
has  taken  place  from  1834  to  1847,  in  fourteen 
years,  is  720,750,  or  51,482  boxes  a  year;  of 
which  the  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  will  be 
1287  boxes  ;  which,  at  fifteen  dollars  apiece, 
will  give  a  yearly  advance  of  -Si 9, 305  to  the 
sugar  tithe.  Two  and  a  half  per  cent,  on  the 
crop  of  1834,  will  be  13,281  boxes  at  -$15 199,215  00 

The  above  will  be  yearly  increased  with 
$22,305  more,  until  the  whole  sugar  crop  will 
be  subject,  which,  not  counting  the  progressive 
extension  of  culture,  will  give  on  the  present 
production  of  1,250,000  boxes,  $4(58,750. 

N.  15.  Against  any  suggestions  calculated  to 
impair  the  exactitude  of  the  above  inferences, 
it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  proportion  of  su 
gar  paying  taxes  was  much  less  under  the  old 
law,  and  therefore  the  fourth  deducted,  as  if 
all  sugar  were  subject  to  it,  in  order  to  obtain 
the  tithe  on  other  articles,  was  much  beyond 
its  real  importance.  As  a  general  rule,  great 
caution  has  been  exercised  in  admitting  data 
not  official. 

Spoliations  of  Taxgatherers.  The  exemption 
from  this  tax  being  founded  in  the  number  of 
crops  made  by  an  estate,  and  on  the  fact  of  its 
being  erected  on  woodlands,  the  formula  to  es 
tablish  these  facts,  and  the  right  of  exemption, 
was  decreed  by  the  Board  of  Authorities  to  be 
a  summary  course,  without  law  expenses,  or 
any  tedious  proceedings  of  the  kind.  Under  a 
spirit  of  corruption,  this  safeguard  has  been 
broken  through,  and  whole  apartments  have 
been  hired  in  Havana  to  store  the  enormous 
and  numerous  packages  of  processes  unjustly, 
and  under  various  pretences,  issued  to  threaten 
the  planters,  and  force  them  in  spite  of  their 
rights,  to  a  private  compromise.  There  is  no 
doubt  it  is  much  under  the  real  sum,  snatched 


$24,105,540  88 


180 


CUBA    AND 


in  this  manner  from  the  country,  to  estimate  it 
nt  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  whole  sugar  tax,  say 
Passengers  landing  to  and  from  steamboats, 
where  the  latter  come  near  the  shore,  are 
forced,  in  Havana,  to  pay  twenty-five  cents  tor 
each  person,  and  something  additional  for  freight 
or  excessive  baggage.  Calculating  that  the 
number  either  going  or  coming  from  the  buetta 
abijo,  or  Matanzas,  by  steamboats  is  64 

in  a  day,  at  25  cts $16  00 

One  fifth  for  baggage 5  20 

$21  20 
Corresponding  to  a  year 

In  the  present  administration  there  is  a  mo 
nopoly  of  manure,  which,  by  compelling  it  to 
be  thrown  on  one  spot,  and  preventing  its  being 
carried  even  to  farms,  secures  a  profit  which, 
weighing  on  the  city,  is  computed  at 

The  custom  which  forces  the  poor  often  to 
be  suddenly  deprived  of  their  horses  in  the 
midst  of  their  excursions,  in  order  to  convey 
military  baggage,  which  being  paid  for  by  the 
treasury  of  the  island  might  as  well  be  con 
tracted  for  beforehand,  added  to  the  gratuitous 
conveyance  of  troops  by  railroads,  is  a  tax  equal  to 

Port  charges  of  vessels  paid  to  captains  of 
the  ports,  health  officers,  etc.,  on  2586  vessels, 
at  an  average  of  forty  dollars 

Tax  on  coastwise  seamen 

Subscriptions.  Notwithstanding  the  taxes  es 
tablished  for  building  and  support  of  churches, 
those  of  Monserratte,  Cardenas,  Matanzas,  the 
cemetery  of  Bejucal,  and  of  every  country  place, 
the  old  theatre,  and  whatever  public  work  or 
dispensation  is  undertaken  by  any  one  chief  of 
town,  is  always  carried  through  by  means  ot 
subscriptions  obtained  by  the  coercitive  influ 
ence  of  those  in  office ;  the  barracks  for 
Roque,  Matanzas,  Coliseo,  and  Cardenas,  the 
support  of  veteran  guards  for  the  country, 
bridges,  repairs  of  roads,  public  subscriptions 


$24,105,540  88 
40,000  00 


7,738  00 


5,000  00 


5,000  00 


103,440  00 
10,000  00 


$24,276,718  88 


THE    CUBANS.  181 

$24,276,718  88 

and  entertainments,  are  thus  capriciously  taxed. 
The  very  military  hospitals  are  built  by  such 
means.  In  fact,  there  are  no  objects,  however 
sacred,  exempt  from  liability  to  subscription, 
not  excepting  even  those  entitled  to  an  ex 
tensive  support  from  the  public  treasury.  The 
amount  derived  from  this  constant  source  of 
taxation  cannot  be  less  than 25,000  00 

Error  of  10,000  less  in  calculation  of  lottery, 
in  sixteen  drawings,  as  per  note.* 160,000  00 

The  tax  on  the  mineral  ore  exported  of  20 
per  cent,  on  its  value,  say  $2,013,543,  will 
give 402,708  60 

$24,864,427  48 

The  detail  of  Cuban  taxes  is  here  concluded.  When 
it  is  considered  how  small  a  portion,  comparatively,  of 
the  sum  collected  is  applied  to  the  legitimate  object  of 
taxation ;  when  it  is  considered  that  for  variety  and 
extent,  for  amount  and  oppressiveness,  they  exceed 
any  taxation  imposed  by  any  government  in  any  country 
upon  the  earth ;  when  the  enormity  of  the  whole  sub 
ject  is  regarded  in  all  its  features,  no  one  can  repress 
a  feeling  of  abhorrence  at  such  acts  of  tyranny,  and  of 
wonder  that  they  have  been  so  long  endured  in  silence. 

So  much  for  taxation  in  Cuba.  For  grievances  gen 
erally,  the  following  may  be  considered  a  correct  and 
faithful  abstract. 

On  the  death  of  Ferdinand  VII.,  Cuba  was  included 
in  the  constitutional  reform  published  in  the  Estatuto 
Real. 

In  1837,  the  democratic  constitution  of  1812  was 
proclaimed,  and  when  General  Lorenzo  repeated  its 
promulgation  in  St.  Jago,  General  Tacon  sent  an  arm 
ed  expedition  to  put  down  the  system  authorized  by 
law,  which  act  was  rewarded  by  the  court. 

*  The  number  of  tickets  advertised  lately  being  37,500  instead  of 
35,000,  makes  $10,000  for  each  drawing,  which,  for  the  sixteen  draw 
ings  for  the  year,  makes  a  difference  of  $160,000. 


182  CUBA    AND 

The  Cuban  deputies,  legally  elected,  were  refused 
admittance  in  the  same  year  at  the  Spanish  Cortes,  and 
a  resolution  was  then  passed  establishing  that  Cuba 
should  be  governed  by  special  laws. 

The  organs  of  government  in  Spain  and  in  Cuba 
have  since  declared,  that  the  civil  laws,  as  they  are 
executed,  and  the  paramount  authority  of  the  agents 
of  government,  are  all  that  is  required  in  the  island ; 
while  arbitrary  rule  and  rapacity  are  the  known  results. 

Besides  representatives  in  Congress,  Spain  has  de 
prived  Cuba  of  all  means  of  redress.  The  press,  under 
the  most  infamous  and  servile  censorship,  is  a  weapon 
only  wielded  against  their  rights.  A  petition,  signed 
by  more  than  two,  is  condemned  as  a  seditious  act. 
The  corporations  have  no  longer  a  representative 
character,  besides  being  under  the  immediate  control 
of  the  captain-general,  who  appoints  their  members, 
and  dictates  at  will  their  resolutions.  The  Board  of 
Improvement  has  become  a  mere  arm  of  the  govern 
ment,  to  sanction  despotic  acts,  to  support  additional 
taxes,  and  to  introduce  mixed  races  into  the  population. 
^  All  good  and  enlightened  patriots  are  forced  into  ob 
scurity,  or  persecuted,  or  expatriated. 
/  Martial  law,  since  1825.  The  captains-general  have 
mcreased  their  encroachments  until  they  now  exercise 
the  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive  power. 
VJKo  trade  can  be  followed,  no  shop  opened,  no  goods 
sold  in  the  street,  without  a  license. 

The  Creoles  are  excluded  from  the  army,  the  judi 
ciary,  the  treasury,  and  customs,  and  from  all  influential 
or  lucrative  positions  ;  private  speculations  and  mo 
nopolies  are  favored  and  established  with  a  view  of 
taking  from  the  former  their  means  of  wealth. 

Services  are  extorted  from  the  poor  in  the  country, 
to  serve  in  the  precarious  police  sustained  therein  ;  fines 
are  imposed,  and  forced  aid  for  the  repairing  of  the 
roads,  all  according  to  the  will  of  the  officer  in  com 
mand,  or  the  pliancy  of  the  individual. 


THE    CUBANS.  183 

More  than  twenty  millions  of  regular  taxes  are  col 
lected  by  the  order  of  the  Spanish  government,  the 
captain-general,  the  lieutenant-governors,  and  of  the 
country  district  judges. 

These  taxes  are  employed  in  supporting  an  army  of 
twenty  thousand  men  to  intimidate  and  oppress  the 
peaceful  inhabitants  of  Cuba  ;  and  likewise  the  entire 
navy  of  Spain,  unnecessarily  stationed  in  the  ports  of 
the  island  for  the  same  purpose  ;  in  the  paying  of  a 
vast  number  of  officers  residing  either  on  the  island 
or  in  Spain ;  and  in  remittances  to  the  court. 

In  spite  of  the  enormous  tithe  collected,  it  is  only  by 
subscriptions  that  the  inhabitants  can  secure  to  them 
selves  temples  for  their  worship,  or  cemeteries  for  their 
dead ;  and  for  a  baptism  or  a  burial,  or  to  obtain  any  ofj 
the  consolations  of  religion,  the  care  of  which  is  indi 
rectly  under  the  all-absorbing  power  of  military  rule, 
it  requires  a  large  additional  sum  to  be  paid. 

The  military  government  has  taken  from  the  other 
political  and  administrative  branches  the  control  of  ed 
ucation,  in  order  to  restrict,  to  limit,  and  to  embarrass 
it. 

The  tributary  system  has  drained  many  sources  of 
wealth.  ^ij^Eour  monopoly  has  put  down  the  cultiva 
tion  of  coffee  Bnd  the  grazing  of  cattle  has  become  a 
sad  spedH  Brom  the  tax  on  its  consumption. 

The  heWHRly  supported  slave  trade — which  carries 
with  it  additional  danger  to  the  existing  slave  property, 
from  an  increased  number  of  the  savage  Africans,  and 
the  entanglement  of  diplomatic  relations  with  England — 
though  rejected  by  the  enlightened  portion  of  the  com 
munity,  is  kept  up  because  of  the  clandestine  profits  it 
brings  to  the  captain-general. 

The  farmers  have  to  pay  2i  per  cent,  on  sugar,  and 
10  per  cent,  on  their  other  harvests,  when  gathered ; 
the  same  is  paid  by  all  engaged  in  raising  live  stock, 
for  all  their  cattle,  exclusive  of  the  charges  arising  from 
an  exportation. 


184  CUBA    AND 

There  is  a  tax  of  $1,25  cents  upon  every  fanega  of 
salt  (about  a  hundred  weight),  which  causes  the  price 
of  that,  article  to  be  raised  to  an  immoderate  sum. 

The  Cuban  pays  6  to  6i  per  cent,  of  the  value  of 
any  slave,  or  any  property  in  town  or  country,  that  he 
may  sell ;  besides  all  other  charges  of  notaries,  of  regis 
tration,  of  stamped  paper,  etc.,  etc. 

There  is  stamped  paper,  for  a  special  purpose,  the 
use  of  which  is  enforced  by  the  government,  and  sold  by 
it  at  the  price  of  eight  dollars  every  sheet ;  and  it  is 
necessary  on  solemn  oath  to  prove  one's  poverty,  in 
order  to  be  admitted  to  the  use  of  cheaper  paper,  a 
sheet  of  which  costs  six  cents. 

No  one  can  have  in  his  house  any  company  or  amuse 
ment  of  any  sort,  if  he  does  not  solicit,  obtain,  and 
pay  for  a  license  ($2,50),  or  he  must  submit  to  be 
mulcted  for  an  infraction  of  the  regulations. 

Every  inhabitant  is  compelled  to  ask  for  a  license, 
and  pay  for  the  same,  when  he  wants  to  go  from  the 
place  of  his  residence. 

No  citizen,  however  peaceful  and  respectable  he  may 
be,  is  allowed  to  walk  through  the  city  after  ten  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  unless  he  carry  with  him  a  lantern,  and 
successively  obtains  leave  of  all  the  watchmen  on  his 
way,  the  infraction  of  which  law  is  punished  with  im 
mediate  arrest,  and  a  fine  of  eight  dollars. 

He  is  not  permitted  to  lodge  any  person  in  his  house 
for  a  single  night,  either  native  or  foreigner,  be  the  same 
his  friend  or  a  member  of  his  family,  without  giving 
information  of  the  same,  also  under  the  penalty  of  a  like 
punishment. 

He  cannot  remove  his  residence  from  one  house  into 
another,  without  giving  notice  previously  to  the  author 
ities  of  his  intention,  under  the  penalty  of  a  heavy 
fine. 

An  order  has  been  made  which  in  effect  prohibits 
rparents  from  sending  their  children  to  the  United  States 
for  purposes  of  education ;  and  such  parents  are  driven 


V 


THE    CUBANS.  185 

to  the  expedient  of  proving  ill  health,  or  feigning  it,  in 
their  children,  in  order  to  obtain  passports  for  them. 

In  the  whole  island  a  most  brutal  spirit  of  despotism 
is  strikingly  prevalent  in  all  officials  of  the  government, 
from  the  captain-general  down  to  the  most  abject  of  his 
hirelings,  without  even  excepting  the  municipal  and  oth 
er  local  authorities. 

A  diabolical  scheme,  concocted  in  the  chambers  of 
Icoy,  exists  for  perpetuating  the  importation  of  Afri 
can  slaves  into  Cuba,  the  primordial  cause  of  her  pres 
ent  hazardous  position. 

In  that  scheme  enter  not  merely  some  members  of 
the  royal  family  of  Spain,  but  all  its  dependents,  favor 
ites,  and  satellites,  including  the  cap  tains -general  of 
Cuba,  and  their  subordinates. 

The  "  gratification"  of  half  an  ounce  in  gold,  which 
was  formerly  received  by  the  captains-general  for  every 
sack  of  charcoal  (the  nickname  given  by  those  engaged 
in  this  infamous  traffic  to  the  African  slaves  brought 
over),  has  risen  to  the  large  sum  of  three  doubloons  in 
gold. 

The  colonial  government  and  its  confederates,  not 
being  able  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  cruisers  of  the 
nations  engaged  in  the  suppression  of  this  traffic,  in  or 
der  to  continue  the  same,  have  had  to  appeal  to  a  forced 
interpretation  of  existing  treaties,  pretending  to  show 
that  such  slaves  are  imported  into  Cuba  from  Brazil. 

These  machinations  are  carried  on  by  some  mem 
bers  of  the  royal  family  in  concert  with  the  colonial 
government ;  and  the  cabinet  not  only  has  full  knowl 
edge  of  the  same,  but  authorizes  and  protects  them,  or, 
at  least,  winks  at  the  practices. 

Within  these  last  months  various  cargoes  of  African 
slaves,  amounting  in  number  to  more  than  3000,  were 
imported  into  the  island  of  Cuba,  and  there  sold  almost 
publicly ;  and  in  gratifications  set  apart  for  the  cap 
tain-general,  Senor  Alcoy  has  already  received  the 


186  CUBA    AND 

sum  of  12,000  doubloons  in  gold— about  200,000  dol 
lars. 

The  sons  of  Cuba  are  persecuted,  imprisoned,  buried 
in  dungeons,  banished,  sentenced  to  fortresses,  and  con 
demned  to  death  for  calumnies,  for  imaginary  crimes  of 
disloyalty,  on  no  better  foundation  than  flimsy  suspicion, 
or  false  denunciations  by  infamous  spies. 


THE    CUBANS.  187 


CHAPTER  IX. 

What  is  to  become  of  Cuba. — Spain  and  her  American  settlements. — 
Cuba  cannot  be  held  by  Spain. — Progress  of  Events. — Right  of 
Cuba  to  Revolutionize. — Must  ultimately  belong  to  England  or  to 
the  United  States. — Reasons  why  it  will  fall  to  the  latter. — Con 
clusion. 

HAVING  presented  briefly  the  past  history  and  present 
situation  of  the  Cubans,  the  inquiry  naturally  arises, 
what  is  to  become  of  Cuba  ? 

Spain  was  the  first  to  plant  her  colonies  in  the  new 
world.  Taking  the  lead  in  European  civilization,  she 
became  possessed  of  the  entire  extent  of  the  American 
continent  which  lies  between  the  forty-third  degree  of 
south,  and  the  thirty-seventh  degree  of  north  latitude, 
a  region  possessing  every  variety  of  climate,  capable  of 
yielding  every  variety  of  vegetable  product,  abounding 
in  mineral  treasure,  remarkable  for  the  richness  of  its 
virgin  soil,  and  promising  inexhaustible  wealth  to  the 
European  adventurer. 

Compared  with  this  magnificent  range  of  country — 
exceeding  the  whole  Russian  empire  in  extent — Eng 
land  occupied  a  meagre  and  barren  shore,  the  posses 
sion  of  the  greater  part  of  which  had  to  be  disputed 
with  the  French  and  Dutch. 

Three  hundred  years  have  elapsed,  and  how  stands 
the  account?  Spain  has  not  a  single  foot  upon  the 
mainland  of  the  American  continent.  Cuba  and  Porto 
Rico  alone,  of  all  her  western  possessions,  have  been 
preserved  to  her  by  the  force  of  circumstances.  In 
view  of  past  history,  with  reference  to  the  peculiar  state 
of  things  in  the  island,  as  they  now  exist,  considering  the 
advance  of  the  age  in  liberal  sentiments,  and  in  free 
institutions,  regarding  the  inevitable  progress  of  events, 


188 

it  cannot  be  held  an  unwise  affirmation  that  Cuba  must 
soon  be  lost  to  Spain.  Much  has  been  said,  of  late, 
about  "  manifest  destiny,"  and  the  term  has  got  to  be 
a  sort  of  watchword  in  the  mouths  of  patriotic  orators 
and  political  speech-makers.  It  is,  however,  a  poor 
excuse  for  the  unlawful  seizure  of  the  territory  of  a 
friendly  power,  or  for  the  unwarrantable  interference 
with  their  rights,  to  raise,  in  avoidance  of  the  charge 
of  robbery  or  oppression,  the  plea  of  "  manifest  desti 
ny  ;"  for  the  same  plea  is  as  good  in  the  mouth  of  the 
highwayman  as  in  that  of  a  power  who  shall  take  to  the 
high  road  of  nations,  and,  armed  to  the  teeth,  prey  up 
on  the  weaker.  But  for  all  that,  there  is  a  sense  in 
which  "  manifest  destiny"  becomes  no  longer  a  bj^word  ; 
for  when  the  reflective  observer  of  events  endeavors  to 
form  an  opinion  as  to  the  future,  and  from  past  exami 
nation,  and  from  all  that  he  can  see  in  the  present,  a 
result  presents  itself  which  is  not  to  be  mistaken,  and 
which  tells,  with  unerring  certainty,  what  is  to  be  ;  he 
is  content  to  say  that  it  is  the  manifest  destiny  of  a 
nation  to  do,  to  become,  or  to  achieve  this  or  that. 

It  has  not  been  owing  to  the  good  management  of 
Spain,  or  to  the  loyalty  of  Cuba,  that  up  to  now  the 
former  has  retained  her  colony.  Rather  has  it  been 
the  good  fortune  of  the  one,  and  the  misfortune  of  the 
other.  It  has  always  been  understood  that  the  United 
States  would  never  consent  that  any  European  power 
other  than  Spain  should  hold  that  island.  'Important 
^  as  the  possession  of  Cuba  was,  Spain  was  supposed  to 
be  too  powerless  and  inert  to  render  her  presence  dan 
gerous  to  the  United  States.  But  the  island  has,  not 
withstanding,  been  watched  by  this  government  with 
jealous  interest.  This  country  interfered  in  1821?  when 
the  invasion  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  was  resolved 
upon  by  the  combined  forces  of  Mexico  and  Colombia, 
not  because  it  was  desirous  of  opposing  the  extension 
of  liberal  principles,  but  because  it  was  apprehensive 
that  independence  would  not  result  from  the  proposed 


THE^UI 


UBANS.  189 

invasion,  and  that  Cuba  might  in  consequence  fall  into 
the  hands  of  some  other  European" ~p~ower— whicfc" on 
no  account  could  be  permitted.  As  a  proof  of  this, 
the  following  extract  is  made  from  the  message  of  John 
Quincy  Adams,  who  was  then  President. 

"  Tfre  condition  of  the  islands  of  Cuba  and  Porto 
Rico  isrof  deeper  import,  and  more  immediate  bearing 
upon  the  present  interests  and  future  prospects  of  our 
*tJnion.  The  correspondence  herewith  transmitted  will 
show  how  earnestly  it  has  engaged  the  attention  of  this 
government.  The  invasion  of  both  those  islands  by 
the^ united  forces  of  Mexico  and  Colombia,  is  avoweffly 
among  the  objects  matured  by  thtTBetHgerent  states  at 
Panama.  The  convulsions  to  which,  from  the  peculiar 
compositions  of  their  population,  they  would  be  liable 
in  the  event  of  such  an  invasion,  and  the  danger  there 
from  re^uliiagJ^Sf  t.hftir  foiling  "UJTriatelv,  into  the 
hands  of  some  European  power  other  than  Spain,  will 
not  admit  of  our  looking  at  the  cftnse<|Ut;ilc^s,  16  which 
the  Congress  of  Panama  may  lead,  with  indifference. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  enlarge  upon  this  topic,  or  to  say 
more  than  all,  our  efforts,  in  reference  to  this  interest, 
will  be  to  preserve  the  existing  state  of  things." 

It  is  a  sound  proposition  to  put  to  the  civilized  world, 
that  no  nation  shall,  at  this  period,  oppress  by  any  ar 
bitrary  or  tyrannical  despotism,  a  dependent  country  or 
colony.  Although  the  means  of  redress  may  not 
always  be  at  hand,  no  one  now  disputes  the  right  of  the 
oppressed  to  seek  for  and  to  use  them. 

If  a  true  statement  has  been  given  of  the  situation 
of  Cuban  affairs,  Cuba  has  a  right  to  attempt  her  free 
dom.  Taking  what  has  been  said  for  truth,  a  case  is 
made  out  which  shall  justify  Cuba,  by  the  unanimous 
voice  of  mankind,  for  the  act  of  revolution.  In  the 
struggle  she  will  be  entitled  to  the  sympathy  of  all 
Christendom.  How  far  nations  should  adhere  to  the 
doctrine  of  neutrality  remains,  as  yet,  unsettled.  A 
deviation  from  it  is  a  dangerous  departure  ;  for  although 


190  CUBA    AND 

there  is  not  one  rule  of  morality  for  a  nation,  and  an 
other  for  an  individual ;  and  although,  as  individuals, 
the  whole  world  should  sympathize  with,  if  not  assist 
in  the  effort  of  an  oppressed  people  struggling  with  des 
potism,  still,  in  such  an  instance,  a  nation  cannot  be  held 
to  the  same  rule.  The  reason  is  plain  enough.  If  one 
man  beholds  another  inflicting  blows  and  wounds  upon 
a  weaker  and  unresisting  fellow-creature,  he  does  not 
hesitate  to  interfere  in  his  behalf,  without  stopping  to 
inquire  whether  or  not  he  may  be  committing  a  techni 
cal  assault.  But  a  nation  cannot  interfere  in  the  same 
way.  The  individual  who  comes  forward  to  protect  his 
fellow  is  amenable  to  the  law  of  the  land  in  which  he 
lives,  and  he  must  answer  to  it  if  he  has  done  a  wrong. 
But  a  nation  is  amenable  to  no  constituted  earthty  au 
thority.  How  far  is  this  forbearance  to  be  carried  1 
Is  there  any  limit  to  it  ?  It  is  certain  that  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  did  not  hesitate  to  sympa 
thize  with  the  Greeks  in  their  struggle  for  liberty,  and 
were  only  prevented  by  a  constitutional  objection  from 
granting  them  substantial  national  aid.  To  preserve  a 
settled  state  of  things,  the  United  States,  as  has  been 
shown,  promptly  interfered  to  prevent  the  invasion  of 
Cuba  by  Mexico  and  Colombia.  How  far  the  same 
government  ought  now  to  interfere,  again  to  preserve 
things  from  change,  or  how  far  it  ought  to  forward  the 
change,  it  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  here. 

Spain  is  too  weak  much  longer  to  hold  her  Cuban 
possessions.  It  needs  but  to  strike  the  blow,  and  inde 
pendence  is  achieved  to  the  island.  In  this  instance 
the  first  step  is  emphatically  half  the  journey,  and  that 
step  will  not  long  be  delayed. 

Cuba  has  the  power,  as  well  as  the  will  and  wisdom 
to  be  free.  She  cannot  be  kept  forever  in  bonds,  en 
dowed  as  she  is  with  a  population  of  1,200,000  ;  with 
a  revenue  of  $20,000,000  ;  with  the  intercourse  and 
light  attending  $60,000.000  of  outward  and  inward 
trade ;  with  a  territory  equal  to  that  of  the  larger  states ; 


THE    CUBANS.  191 

with  a  soil  teeming  with  the  choicest  productions  ;  with 
forests  of  the  most  precious  woods  ;  with  magnificent 
and  commanding  harbors  ;  with  an  unmatched  position 
as  the  warder  of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  and  the  guardian 
of  the  communication  with  the  Pacific  ;  Cuba,  the 
queen  of  the  American  islands,  will  not  consent  always 
to  remain  a  manacled  slave,  and  when  the  chains  are  to 
break,  the  United  States  can  no  more  say,  "  Cuba  is 
naught  to  us,"  than  Cuba  can  detach  herself  from  her 
anchorage  in  the  portals  of  the  American  sea,  or  her 
sentinelship  over  against  the  entrance  of  the  thousand- 
armed  Mississippi. 

Then  arises  the  question,  what  is  to  become  of  Cuba  ?  /l¥) \ 
She  will  remain  independent ;  she  will  come  under      / 
the  protection  of  England  ;  or,  she  will  form  one  of    v 
the  confederated  United  States. 

So  far  as  the  interests  of  Cuba  are  concerned,  a  con 
nection  with  England  of  the  advantageous  character 
which  that  country  would  inevitably  grant  to  the 
island,  or  annexation  to  the  United  States,  would  be 
more  for  its  welfare  and  prosperity,  than  for  her  to 
maintain  the  position  of  solitary  independence.  It  is 
rational,  then,  to  suppose  she  would  adopt  one  of  the 
two  remaining  positions.  ,, 

^  That  Cuba  shall  ever  fall  under  the  power  or  influ-  n  -{ 
ence  of  England,  is  a  thing  simply  out  of  the  question./^ 
The  United  States  cannot  permit  any  European  power 
to  erect  a  Gibraltar  which  shall  command  both  north 
and  south,  and  which  can  at  any  moment  cut  in  two 
the  trade  between  the  Gulf  and  Atlantic  states,  and 
break  up  at  pleasure  the  sea  communication  between 
New  Orleans  and  New  York.  In  a  military  point  of 
view,  Cuba  locks  up  in  a  closed  ring,  the  whole  sweep 
of  the  Mexican  Gulf.  Its  seven  hundred  miles  of 
coast  is  one  mighty  fortress  ;  each  one  of  its  hundred 
hill-crowned  bays  is  a  haven  of  shelter  to  an  entire 
navy,  and  an  outpost  to  sentinel  every  movement  of 
offence  and  to  bar  out  every  act  of  hostile  import. 


192  CUBA    AND 

Standing  like  a  warder  in  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  yet  stretching  far  to  the  east,  so  as  to  overlook 
and  intercept  any  unfriendly  demonstration  upon  either 
of  the  great  thoroughfares  to  South  America  or  the 
Pacific,  it  is  in  a  position  to  overawe  the  adjacent 
islands,  and  watch  and  defend  all  the  outside  ap 
proaches  to  the  Isthmus  routes  to  the  Pacific,  while  it 
guards  the  portals  of  the  vast  inland  sea,  the  reservoir 
of  the  Mississippi  and  Mexican  trade,  the  rendezvous 
of  California  transit,  and,  what  has  not  yet  been  duly 
heeded,  the  outlet  of  an  immense  though  new-born 
mineral  wealth,  which  is  yet  to  control  the  metal  mar 
kets  of  Christendom. 

In  short,  it  makes  the  complete  bulwark  of  the  Mex 
ican  Gulf,  and  only  leaves  to  it  two  gates  ;  one  between 
Cape  Antonio,  the  western  extremity  of  the  island,  and 
Cape  Catoche,  which  advances  from  the  coast  of  Yuca 
tan  to  meet  it,  and  forms  a  strait  less  than  100  miles 
wide  ;  and  the  other  between  Hicacos,  the  most  north 
ern  point  of  Cuba,  and  Cape  Sable,  the  southern  ex 
tremity  of  Florida,  but  a  little  more  than  100  miles 
apart,  and  between  which  passes  the  "  Old  Channel" 
of  the  Bahamas. 

Half  a  dozen  steamers  would  bridge  with  their  can 
non  the  narrow  straits  between  Yucatan  and  the  west 
point  of  Cuba,  and  between  Florida  and  Matanzas  on 
the  north,  and  seal  hermetically  to  every  aggressive 
stranger  the  entire  coast  circle  of  the  American  Medi 
terranean.  This  simple  geographical  fact  constitutes 
rnhM.  flips  kpy  of  t.hp  jj-nlf^  and  it  would  be  felt  if  it 
passed  into  the  grasp  of  a  strong  and  jealous  rival. 
England,  firmly  resting  on  Cuba,  and  with  Jamaica  and 
the  Bahamas  to  flank  her  steam  operations,  would  have 
full  retreat  and  succor  for  her  fleets,  and  would  be  able 
at  need  to  concentrate  the  force  of  an  empire  against 
the  coasting  trade.  With  such  a  firm  and  convenient 
cover  as  that  island,  with  its  self-defenrL-d  coast  and 
secure  harbors,  she  could  face,  Janus-like,  in  every 


THE    CUBANS.  193 

direction.  With  Canada  and  the  Bermudas — raised 
for  that  purpose  into  a  strong  naval  station — opposite 
our  centre  on  the  Atlantic,  and  half  way  between  those 
strong  extremes,  she  would  present  a  dangerous  front 
to  the  whole  northern  coast,  while  she  executed  the  bold 
threat  of  her  minister,  to  "  shut  up  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
cut  in  twain  the  commerce  between  it  and  the  Atlantic 
states,  and  close  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and  its 
hundred  tributaries  to  the  trade  and  assistance  of  the 
shipping  and  manufacturing  states."  But  strike  Cuba 
— the  central  and  noblest  jewel — from  this  diadem  of 
power,  and  her  broken  circlet  of  American  strongholds 
is  no  longer  formidable. 

England — controlling  Cuba  on  the  north  as  she 
claims  to  control  the  Mosquito  shore  on  the  south,  and 
mistress  of  Balize  on  the  west  as  she  is  of  Jamaica  on 
the  east — would  be  the  arbitress  of  the  Caribbean  Sea, 
even  now  almost  her  own,  and  well  guarded  by  her 
long  array  of  Leeward  and  Windward  Islands  from 
other  intrusion. 

The  same  steam  fleets  that  watch,  and  the  same 
island  key  that  locks  and  unlocks  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
with  the  long  chain  of  rivers  and  states  depending  on 
it,  also  watches  the  inlets  of  the  Caribbean  and  locks 
or  unlocks  the  gates  of  the  Pacific.  Cuba,  the  queen 
of  the  Antilles,  unrolls  her  long  line  of  coast  exactly 
in  the  path  to  the  Pacific,  whether  by  the  Gulf  or  Isth  I  r 
mus  ;  and  whoever  holds  her,  commands  the  great 
highway  to_ Mexico  and  South  America,  to  Oregon, 
California,  and  the  Pacific. 

In  -view  of  all  this,  can  the  United  States  permit 
England  to  control  Cuba  ?  As  well  might  England 
give  up  to  the  United  States  the  command  of  the 
entrance  to  the  English  Channel  and  the  Irish  Sea. 
In  short,  it  is  a  question  about  which  there  can  be  no 
argument.  It  is  settled  by  the  mere  statement  of  the 
case. 

But,  in  conclusion,  what   inducements    has   Cuba, 
9 


194  CUBA    AND 

when  independent,  to  become  one  of  the  states  of  the 
A  meriean  confederacy  ;  and  what  advantages  will  the 
United  States  reap  in  admitting  Cuba  into  that  con 
federacy  1  Enough  has  been  said  of  the  geographical 
situation  of  Cuba,  when  speaking  of  the  tremendous 
power  the  possession  of  the  island  would  give  to 
England.  Cuba  seems  placed,  by  the  finger  of  a 
kindly  Providence,  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mex 
ican  seas,  at  the  crossing  point  of  all  the  great  lines 
of  an  immense  coasting  trade,  to  serve  as  the  centre 
of  exchange  for  a  domestic  commerce  as  extensive  as 
the  territory  of  the  Union,  and  as  free  as  its  institu 
tions.  It  is  only  after  a  careful  study  of  the  incredible 
extent  and  variety  of  the  products  of  thirty  states, 
with  all  their  grades  of  climate,  and  in  the  whole  cir 
cumference  of  their  natural  and  manufactured  wealth, 
and  then  only  with  the  map  of  North  America  dis 
tinctly  before  the  eye,  that  the  importance  of  Cuba  as 
a  point  of  reception  and  distribution  can  be  fairly 
understood. 

From  the  moment  Cuba  becomes  an  integral  portion 
of  the  United  States,  all  the  exactions  and  oppressions 
which  now  weigh  so  heavily  upon  it,  will  be  at  an  end. 
The  island  would  enter  at  once  into  the  enjoyment  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty  ;  and  with  her  ports  open  to 
the  commerce  of  the  world — her  inhabitants  educated 
and  religiously  impressed — her  soil  cultivated  to  its 
full  capability — her  products  sent  to  an  unrestricted 
market — and  under  the  influence  of  the  moral  and 
political  force  which  are  the  vital  elements  of  the 
American  Constitution — she  would  become  the  most 
prosperous  of  the  states. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  advantages  to  be  obtained  by 
the  United  States  by  the  annexation  of  Cuba,  are  incal 
culable. 

If  annexation  was  fully  and  freely  established,  Cuba 
would  be  as  valuable  to  this  confederacy  as  New  York 
itself.  As  an  outpost,  vital  to  American  trade  and  de- 


THE    CUBANS.  195 

fence,  and  as  a  centre  of  transit  and  exchange,  Cuba    $ 
would  grow  in  importance  to  the  whole  family  of  the 
confederation,  in  even  measure  with  the  growth  of  the 
states  on  the  Pacific,  and  the  rising  tide  of  the  oriental  < 
business  which  the  flag  of  the  Union  is  about  to  lead  \ 
from  Asia  across  the  Isthmus.     She  lies  exactly  in  the  \ 
track  of  the  golden    current,  and  none  of  the  states 
are,  like  her,  in  a  position  to  watch  and  defend  every 
inlet  and  outlet.  / 

In  the  circle  of  production,  essential  to  a  home  sup 
ply,  always  sure,  and  independent  of  foreign  interfer 
ence,  Cuba  can  fill  nobly  the  remaining  gap,  with  her 
coffee,  cocoa,  and  tropical  fruits.  In  this,  too,  she 
would  serve  all  her  sister  states,  for  she  would  sell  to 
every  one,  and  buy  of  every  one,  which  is  not  true  of 
the  special  product  of  any  other  state.  She  would  also 
add  as  much  as  the  Union  really  needs  of  sugar  lands, 
and  would  make  that,  henceforth,  a  strong  and  distinct 
feature  in  the  national  balance  of  interests. 

A  new  sectional  interest  always  implies  another  me 
diator  in  the  councils  of  the  confederation — a  proved 
truth  in  favor  of  the  permanent  equilibrium  of  the 
Republic,  which  the  opponents  of  annexation  refuse 
to  take  fairly  into  account.  The  manufacturing  east, 
the  wheat  and  cattle-raising  west,  the  commercial  mid 
dle  states,  the  cotton-growing  southwest,  the  rice  and 
sugar-planting  south,  and,  last  and  latest,  the  new 
born  and  gigantic  mineral  power  starting  up  on  the 
great  northern  lakes,  and  seaming  the  continent,  down 
to  the  far  Pacific,  with  its  sudden  influence — have  each 
and  every  one  their  independent  sectional  weight  and 
representation,  as  well  as  a  diffused  reciprocal  depend 
ence  on  each  other,  and  on  the  Union  as  a  whole.  In 
the  perpetually  recurring — but  under  these  balance 
checks  never  fatal — state  opposition,  every  distinct  in 
terest  is  a  distinct  guarantee  for  the  general  equity  of 
adjustment.  It  has  been  seen  in  the  slavery  discus 
sions  how  far  sectional  bitterness  can  go,  when  the 


196  CUBA    AND 

whole  Union  is  reduced  to  two  parties,  with  no  disinter 
ested  and  intermediate  powers  between  them  to  urge 
peace,  and  teach  conciliation.     Yet  even  in  this  stress  it 
will  be  found,  at  last,  that  the  counsels  which  open  the 
way,  and  the  votes  that  compel  moderation  and  com 
promise,  will  come  from  almost  a  third  interest.     The 
states  that  lay  along  the  line  of  division,  and  that  are 
themselves,  in  transition  from  slave-holding  to  emanci 
pation,  will  come  to  the  rescue   and  forbid   extreme 
^measures.     Cuba  may  suffer  from  the  dispute  between 
I    the  free  and  slave  cultivated  states  ;  but  apart  from 
\  this,  she  wants  to  come  into  the  Union  without  offence 
\  to  any,  and  to  the  absolute  profit  of  every  partner  in 
the  confederation.     In  bringing  to  the  commonwealth  a 
class  of   luxuries  which  every  state  largely  demands 
and  consumes,  and  which  are  not  produced  by  any,  she 
also  brings  to  the  Union  fresh  elements  of  mediation, 
harmony,  and  stable  equipoise. 

L— '  The  money  value  of  this  circulation  of  natural  pro 
ducts  would  be  more  conspicuously  evident  if  Cuba 
could  trade  with  the  United  States  on  family  terms, 
unembarrassed  by  the  heavy  and  wasteful  hindrance  of 
the  Spanish  tariffs.  Official  documents  show  that  out 
of  the  twenty,  or  twenty-two  millions  of  dollars  of  an 
nual  exportation  into  Cuba,  fifteen  millions  are  in  pro 
visions,  fabrics,  lumber,  and  materials  which  one  or  the 
other  of  the  Ignited  States  could  better  supply  than  any 
other  country,  but  through  the  multitude  of  taxes  and 
restrictions  imposed  by  European  policy,  not  more  than 
a  third  of  it  comes  from  the  fields  and  factories  of  this 
country.  The  industrial  classes  here  lose  by  this  sys 
tem  the  stimulus  of  ten  millions  a  year — sufficient  to 
employ  and  support  forty  thousand  laborers — while  the 
.Cubans  only  obtain,  under  these  exorbitant  imposts, 
about  one  half  as  much  for  their  money  as  they  would 
get  in  a  free,  fair  market. 

Provisions  for  example,  such  as  flour,  salted  meats, 
butter,  and  all  the  etceteras  of  American  abundance,. 


THE    CUBANS.  197 

are  imported  into  Cuba  to  the  amount  of  nine  millions 
of  dollars  annually,  and  all  are  loaded  with  duties  that 
average  34  per  cent.,  and  what  with  delays,  high  ap 
praisals,  tonnage  duties,  local  exactions,  and  retail 
taxes,  cost  more  than  double  the  just  market  price  by  the 
time  they  reach  the  table  of  the  consumer.  American 
flour  from  American  ships  pays  a  duty  of  $10,50  a  bar 
rel  to  "  protect"  the  inferior  article  from  Spain,  and  in 
consequence,  none  but  the  rich  in  Cuba  can  aiford  to 
eat  good  wheat  bread  ;  while  in  open  family  reciprocity, 
American  agriculturists  would  yearly  be  called  upon  to 
supply  a  million  barrels  of  flour  to  its  1,200,000  inhab 
itants. 

New  England  is  not  less  concerned  in  unbinding  this 
trade,  for  besides  the  nine  millions  which  should  be  paid 
to  the  farmers  of  this  country,  > and  the  two  millions  in 
metals,  implements,  and  machinery,  which  of  right 
should  float  to  her  from  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi, 
Cuba  annually  requires  cotton  and  woolen  fabrics,  and 
ready-made  furniture  and  apparel,  to  the  invoice  value 
of  three  millions  more,  all  of  which  New  England 
looms  and  mechanics  should  create.  Fifteen  millions 
are  therefore  imported  into  Cuba  which  the  citizens  in 
the  mining,  manufacturing,  and  agricultural  states 
should  supply,  and  which  the  ships  of  the  commercial 
section  should  convey ;  and  this  mass  of  needful  food, 
raiment,  furniture,  and  implements  for  house  and  land, 
when  broken  up  in  detail,  and  overwhelmed  at  each  step 
with  fresh  impositions,  do  not  cost  the  Cubans  less  than 
thirty  millions  of  dollars. 

By  reason  of  this  system  of  preventions,  the  ship 
ping  interest  can  only  employ  476,000  tons  in  a  year 
in  this  trade,  for  which  it  pays  $1,50  a  ton  duty  to  Spain 
— while  it  would  find  advantageous  service  at  once  for 
a  million  of  tons,  if  the  ports  of  the  island  were  free  to 
this  country. 

This  brief  outline  of  the  domestic  and  pecuniary  in 
ducements  to  annexation  is  based  on  official  data,  and 


108  CUBA    AND 

it  is  kept  within  the  mark  for  the  convenience  of  using 
round  numbers.  From  this  it  may  be  deduced  whether 
the  United  States  would  gain  or  lose  by  the  accession 
of  Cuba. 

On  the  other  hand,  with  a  multiplied  population, 
with  all  her  fountains  of  wealth  open,  with  all  her  ele 
ments  of  prosperity  developed,  who  can  fix  the  limits 
to  the  benefits  which  will  arise  to  Cuba,  to  America,  and 
to  the  United  States  1 

In  conclusion,  it  must  not  be  understood  that  the  an 
nexation  of  Cuba  to  the  United  States  is  advocated, 
without  regard  to  the  rights  of  Spain,  merely  because  it 
would  be  advantageous  on  both  sides.  As  between  Spain 
and  Cuba,  the  former  has  forfeited  every  right  to  her 
supremacy  over  the  latter.  This,  however,  does  not  jus 
tify  an  unlawful  interference  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States.  But  this  country  must  look  to  it,  when  the 
island  shall  become  free  from  Spanish  dominion — an 
event  to  take  place  speedily — that,  in  the  words  of  the 
late  distinguished  ex-President,  John  Quincy  Adams, 
"  Cuba  does  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  any  other  Eu 
ropean  power." 

It  is  the  natural  right — it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  the 
United  States  to  watch  over  the  interests  of  Cuba.  The 
present  captain-general  has  threatened  to  emancipate 
and  arm  the  African  slaves  in  case  of  the  least  movement 
on  the  part  of  the  Cubans.  Who  can  regard  with  any 
thing  but  horror  this  most  outrageous,  most  fiendish  avow 
al  ?  Would  the  United  States  permit  this  7  Dare  the 
United  States  permit  this  1  Who  can  look  back  to  the 
enormities  and  awful  excesses  of  St.  Domingo,  and  hes 
itate  for  an  answer  ?  What,  then,  is  to  be  done  ?  Cu 
ba  will  undertake  her  freedom,  and  that  speedily ;  the 
captain-general  will  be  proud  to  make  good  his  threat, 
and  what  then  7  It  is  with  a  shudder  that  this  picture 
is  contemplated  ;  but  the  struggle  is  close  at  hand,  and 
cannot  be  delayed. 

There  is  one  method  by  which  all  the  difficulties  and 

V 


THE    CUBANS.  199 

perplexities  attending  the  Cuban  question  can  be  avoid 
ed  ;  by  which  Cuba  shall  be  free,  and  Spain  content ; 
by  which  Cuba  shall  join  the  United  States,  and  Eng 
land  have  no  cause  to  complain ;  by  which  an  entire 
revolution  shall  be  effected  in  the  island,  and  no  blood 
be  spilled. 

One  method  there  is  by  which  all  this  may  be  accom 
plished,  viz.,  the  purchase  of  Cuba  from  Spain  by 
the  United  States.  Applying  carefully  what  has  been 
said  in  the  preceding  pages  ;  as  to  the  advantages  result 
ing  to  the  island  and  to  the  Union  by  the  incorporating 
of  the  former  into  the  latter,  and  the  inadequacy  of 
Spain  to  hold  her  colony  longer  in  subjection  ;  to  the 
question  whether  it  is  not  best  for  Spain  to  sell,  and 
the  United  States  to  purchase  Cuba,  no  one  can  hesitate 
for  a  decision. 

On  the  cabinet  at  Washington,  with  the  President 
at  their  head — on  Congress  assembled  there — a  heavy 
responsibility  rests.  It  is  in  their  power  by  a  firm  but 
prudent,  a  just  but  conciliating  course,  to  save  a  peo 
ple  from  the  conflict  of  a  revolution,  which  is  certainly 
close  at  hand — a  revolution  bloody  and  desperate  from 
the  nature  of  the  elements  which  shall  compose  it — and 
place  them  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  states  of  the 
confederacy,  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  protect  Spain 
by  paying  for  a  colony  which  would  otherwise  be  abso 
lutely  lost  to  her. 

That  negotiations  may  be  successfully  carried  through 
which  shall  have  this  consummation  for  their  object, 
should  be  the  devout  prayer  of  the  philanthropist. 


Map ;  showing'  the  relative  situation  of  Cuba,  and  other  West  India  Islands,  and  dif 
ferent  parts  of  the  United  States. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX 


No.  I. 

CUBA,  the  largest  of  the  greater  Antilles  extends 
from  Cape  Mayzi  on  the  east  to  Cape  St.  Antonio  on 
the  west,  in  a  curved  line  of  790  miles.  It  is  117 
miles  wide,  in  the  broadest  part,  from  Cape  Maternillos 
Point  on  the  north  to  the  western  point  of  Mota  Cove 
on  the  south,  twenty-one  miles  east  of  Cape  Cruz. 
The  narrowest  part  of  the  island  is  twenty-two  miles, 
from  the  mouth  of  Bahia  del  Mariel  on  the  north  to 
the  Cove  of  Mayana  on  the  south.  From  Havana  to 
Batabano  it  is  twenty-eight  miles.  Near  the  centre  of 
the  island,  the  breadth  north  and  south  is  about  seven 
ty-five  miles. 

The  periphery  of  the  island,  following  a  line  the  less 
tortuous,  and  cutting  the  bays,  ports,  and  coves  at  their 
mouth,  is  1719  miles,  of  which  816  are  on  the  north, 
and  903  on  the  south.  Its  area  is  about  55,000  square 
miles  ;  and  taking  into  the  estimate  the  adjacent  islands 
or  keys  which  belong  to  it,  it  is  64,000  square  miles. 

The  form  of  the  island  is  exceedingly  irregular,  ap 
proaching  that  of  a  long,  narrow  crescent,  the  convex 
portion  of  which  looks  toward  the  arctic  pole.  Her 
situation  in  regard  to  said  pole  is  nearly  from  east  by 
south,  to  west  by  northwest.  It  is  the  most  westerly  of 
the  West  India  Islands,  and  her  western  part  is  placed 
advantageously  in  the  mouth  of  the  Mexican  Gulf, 
leaving  two  spacious  entrances,  the  one  to  the  north- 


204  APPENDIX. 

west  124  miles  wide,  between  Point  Hicacos,  the  most 
northerly  of  the  island,  and  Point  Tancha  or  Cape  Sa 
ble,  the  most  southerly  of  East  Florida.  The  other 
entrance  into  the  Gulf  to  the  southwest  is  ninety-seven 
and  a  half  miles  in  its  narrowest  part,  between  Cape 
St.  Antonio  of  Cuba,  and  Cape  Catoche,  the  most  sa 
lient  extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan.  From 
Cape  Mola  or  St.  Nicholas  in  the  island  of  St.  Do 
mingo,  the  eastern  extremity  of  Cuba,  or  Mayzi  Point, 
is  separated  by  a  channel  forty-two  miles  wide. 

From  Mayzi  to  great  Enagua,  the  nearest  of  the 
Luca}ras  or  Bahama  Islands,  the  distance  to  the  north 
east  is  forty-five  miles.  From  Point  Lucrecia,  in 
Cuba,  to  the  most  easterly  point  of, the  great  Bank  of 
Bahama  in  the  old  Bahama  channel,  called  Santo  Do 
mingo's  Key,  thirty-four  miles.  From  Punta  del  In 
gles,  on  the  south  of  Cuba,  to  the  nearest  point  of  the 
northern  coast  of  Jamaica  the  distance  is  seventy-five 
miles. 

Cuba  contains  the  following  ports  on  the  north,* 
viz.  :  Guadiana,  Bahia  Honda,  Cabana,  Mariel,  Ha 
vana,  Matanzas,  Cardenas,  Sagua  la  Grande,  San 
Juan  de  los  Remedios,  Guanaja,f  JYuevitas,  Nuevas 
Grandes,  Manati,  Puerto  del  Padre,  Puerto  del  Man 
gle,  Jibara,  Jururu,  Bariai,  Vita,  Naranjo,  Sama 
Banes,  JYipe,  Leviza,  Cabonico,  Tanamo,  Cebolla.s, 
Zaguaneque,  Zaragua,  Taco,  Cuyaguaneque  Navas, 
Maravi,  Baracoa,!  and  Mata  :  thirty-seven  in  all. 

On  the  south,  Batiqueri,  Puerto  Escondido,  Guan- 
tanamo,  Santiago  de  Cuba,  Mota,  Manzanillo,  Santa 
Cruz,  Vertientes,  Masio,  Casilda,  Jagua,  Ensenada 
de  Cortez,  and  Ensenada  de  Cochinos  :  thirteen  in  all. 

*  Those  marked  with  italics  are  spacious  bays,  affording  anchor 
age  to  ships  of  the  line. 

t  This  was  the  first  place  on  the  island  visited  by  Columbus,  Octo 
ber  23th,  1492. 

\  This  was  the  first  town  built  on  the  island  by  the  Spaniards, 
under  Diego  Velasquez,  iu  the  year  1511,  and  till  1522  was  reckoned 
the  capital. 


APPENDIX.  205 

There  are  besides  some  other  anchorages,  good  for 
small  vessels.  It  must  be  observed  with  astonishment, 
that  a  great  many  of  these  fine  harbors  are  deserted, 
without  a  single  fisherman's  hut. 

The  climate  of  the  island  cannot  be  more  pleasant, 
as  well  in  spring  as  in  winter.  In  the  latter  prevails 
what  we  call  la  seca,  dry  weather.  The  rainy  season 
begins  in  May,  and  continues  until  November. 

The  annexed  tables  of  the  rates  of  Fahrenheit's 
thermometer,  will  afford  an  illustration  of  the  almost 
uniform  temperature  of  the  climate  of  Cuba. 

MEAN  TEMPERATURE. 

deg.   mm. 

Mean  temperature  of  the  year  at  Havana  and  northern 

part,  near  the  sea,         -         -         -         -  77  00 

*«             "              at  Havana  the  warmest  month,        -  82  00 

"             ««                     "          the  coldest  month,           -  70  00 

"  *•  in  the  interior  for  the  year,  where 

the  land  rises  from  600  to  1050 

feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,     -  74  00 

«*  «*  in  the  coldest  month,       -         -         -62  30 

»             "              for  the  year  at  Santiago  de  Cuba,     -  80  30 

"             "              for  the  warmest  month,            -         -  84  00 

«             "              for  the  coldest  month,     -         -         -  64  00 

EXTREME  TEMPERATURE. 

deg.    min. 

At  Havana  it  is  cold  when  at  -  70  00 

The  coldest  day  at  Havana  has  been  -  -  -  -  60  30 
The  warmest  day  «  "  -  92  00 

In  the  interior,  the  thermometer  many  times  has  sunk 

to  -  53  00 

And  even  to -  50  00 

In  the  grottos  and  caves  near  St.  Antonio  and  Beitia,  and 

on  the  Chorrera  Creek,  -  -  -  -  -  71  30 

In  a  well  at  the  depth  of  300  feet,  -  -  -  -  77  00 

The  vegetable  soil  of  the  island  may  be  said  to  rest 
almost  universally  on  one  great  mass  of  calcareous 
rock,  of  a  porous  and  unequal  character.  (Seborucos 
or  Mucara.^  Near  the  middle  of  the  northern  coast, 


206  APPENDIX. 

a  slaty  formation  is  to  be  seen,  on  which  the  calcareous 
rock  seems  to  rest. 

As  to  the  fertility  of  the  land  in  Cuba,  little  can  be 
said  which  may  be  new,  it  being  so  well  known  that  It 
is  almost  proverbial.  An  area  of  65,000  square  miles, 
equivalent  to  nearly  34,560,000  acres,  the  greater  part 
of  which  are  of  the  first  quality  for  cultivation,  and  a 
great  portion  of  them  still  remain  uncultivated,  are 
circumstances  which  offer  to  every  emigrant  fond  of 
labor,  a  vast  field  to  exert  his  efforts  in,  and  the  pros 
pect  of  a  very  brilliant  reward. 

With  respect  to  the  salubriousness  of  the  country, 
it  is  usually  remarkable,  and  particularly  so  in  the  in 
terior  of  the  island.  It  is  certain  that  in  the  largest 
towns  situated  near  the  coasts,  during  the  intense  heats 
of  the  summer  season,  it  is  usual  for  the  yellow  fever 
to  make  its  appearance  ;  but  besides  this  being  not,  as 
it  formerly  was,  a  mortal  disease,  thanks  to  the  actual 
improvements  in  medicine,  its  attacks  are  almost  surely 
avoided  by  observing  a  good  hygienic  regimen. 

The  population  of  Cuba  does  not  correspond  to  its 
area,  nor  to  the  infinite  advantages  offered  by  its  climate 
and  its  riches,  nor  to  the  time  since  which  it  was  con 
stituted  a  colony. 

The  statement  on  the  following  page  was  made  out  in 
accordance  with  the  official  accounts  and  census  of  the 
government  of  Cuba. 

From  that  statement  it  appears  that  the  white  pop 
ulation  of  the  island  has  only  increased  in  five  years, 
in  7476  individuals,  while  that  of  the  colored  people 
has  decreased,  in  the  same  space  of  time,  in  116,348 
individuals,  of  which  3612  belong  to  the  free  class. 


APPENDIX. 


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208 


APPENDIX. 


Population  of  some  of  the  principal  cities  and  towns  on  the 
island,  according  to  the  census  made  in  1841  and  in  1846. 


1841. 

1846. 

Increase.        Decrease. 

Havana     -         -         -     137,498 

106,968 

30,530 

Puerto  Principe 

24,034 

19,168 

4,866 

Santiago  de  Cuba 

24,753 

24,005 

748 

Guines       - 

2.515 

2,612 

912 

Matanzas 

18,991 

16,986 

2,005 

Cardenas 

1,828 

3,103 

1,275 

Cienfuegos 

2,437 

4,324 

1,887 

Trinidad 

12,718 

13,222 

464 

Villa  Clara 

6,132 

5,837 

295 

Santi  Spiritus     - 

9,484 

7,424 

2,060 

St.  Juan  de  los  Remedios 

4,313 

4,106 

207 

Nuevitas 

1,352 

1,222 

132 

Manzanillo 

3,299 

3,780 

481 

Bayamo 

7,480 

4,776 

2,207 

Holguin 

4,199 

3,065 

1,132 

Baracoa 

2,605 

1,853 

732 

The  natural  riches  of  the  island  are  immense,  many 
resources  of  which  still  lie  unexplored.  Sugar,  to 
bacco,  and  coffee  are  the  three  principal  branches 
which  have  hitherto  absorbed,  and  will  continue  to 
command,  the  united  efforts  of  industry  and  capital,  as 
long  as  the  increase  of  population  shall  require  no  other 
veins,  which  though  less  important  are  still  rich  and 
productive. 

In  her  vegetable  kingdom  she  need  envy  none.  The 
catalogue  of  her  indigenous  alimentary  plants  is  large, 
to  say  nothing  of  exotics.  In  grains,  excluding  coffee, 
she  has  rice,  corn,  and  wheat ;  also,  every  variety  of 
vegetable ;  in  roots,  the  name,  the  yuca,  the  bonia  to, 
the  malanga,  the  sagu,  the  ararut,  etc.  (all  indige 
nous),  besides  potatoes,  onions,  and  garlic ;  and  others 
of  the  horticultural  class. 

The  different  varieties  of  fruit-trees  are  very  nume 
rous,  as  in  all  tropical  climates.  Plantains,  orange- 
trees,  pines,  and  lemons,  in  great  variety,  cocoa-nuts, 
all  these  are  well  known  and  esteemed  in  the  United 


APPENDIX.  209 

States  ;  but  could  the  following  reach  this  market,  they 
would  be  no  less  appreciated,  the  anon,  the  zapote,  the 
mamey,  the  guanabana,  the  guyaba,  and  other  varie 
ties,  not  including  wildings.  The  pasturages  are  ex 
tensive,  abundant,  and  perennial. 

Cuba  is  well  provided  with  the  best  qualities  of 
building  timber ;  among  which  are  the  acana,  the  ju- 
caro,  the  oak,  cedar,  etc.  In  valuable  woods  the  isl 
and  no  less  abounds  ;  fustic  and  brazil-wood  for  dying, 
is  a  principal  source  of  wealth,  in  the  eastern  division. 
With  regard  to  other  varieties  of  the  vegetable  king 
dom,  the  following  paragraph  from  a  recent  number  of 
a  periodical  of  the  island,  will  throw  some  light  : 

"  Many  persons  believe  that  various  natural  pro 
ductions  imported  into  the  island  of  Cuba  (and  for 
which  we  pay  so  exorbitantly),  could  not  be  raised 
here  to  advantage.  It  is  an  error,  since  we  now  have 
before  us  a  piece  of  a  cinnamon- tree  which  has  the 
same  smell,  color,  and  taste  as  the  imported,  and  yet 
is  the  product  of  a  plantation  in  the  jurisdiction  of 
Santiago  de  Cuba.  On  the  same  soil  may  be  seen 
nearly  all  the  fruits  of  Europe  and  Asia,  including 
cloves,  oregano,  and  pepper." 

The  medicinal  plants  also  are  in  great  abundance, 
and  are  very  efficacious. 

The  riches  of  the  mineral  kingdom  have  hitherto  not 
been  sufficiently  explored,  to  make  known  their  extent. 
Copper  mines  are  now  being  worked  to  great  advan 
tage,  in  the  Eastern  Department ;  they  are  also  found 
in  all  parts  of  the  island,  as  had  been  proved  by  re 
searches  in  the  neighborhoods  of  Matanzas,  Villa  Clara, 
Cienfuegos,  etc.  Only  a  few  months  ago,  a  rich  mine 
of  lead  with  silver  was  discovered  which  promises  to 
be  very  profitable.  In  the  Western  Department  there 
are  rivers  (such  as  the  Arcos  or  Cuevas  de  San  An 
tonio),  which  deposit  on  their  banks  that  same  sand  of 
native  gold,  in  search  of  which  thousands  are  now 
flocking  to  the  distant  shores  of  California. 


210  APPENDIX. 

Coal  is  also  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Havana 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  island ;  and  with  the  produce 
of  Guanabacoa,  steamships  have  always  been  supplied. 

On  all  the  coasts  of  Cuba,  principally  on  the  north 
ern,  are  found  immense  deposits  of  salt,  which  would 
open  a  profitable  fountain  to  labor  ani  industry,  were 
it  not  for  the  exorbitant  duties  imposed  by  the  gov 
ernment,  levying  a  tax  of  $2,50  per  fanega  (200  Ibs.) 

There  is  also  an  abundance  of  sulphur,  loadstone, 
granite,  clay,  flint,  crystal,  and  marble.  This  latter 
is  one  of  the  principal  branches  of  wealth,  in  the  Isle 
of  Pines,  where  the  quarries  of  O'Donnel  have  been 
worked  to  great  advantage. 

The  animal  kingdom  is  not  less  prolific.  Exquisite 
fish  abound  on  all  the  coasts,  rivers,  and  streams ;  an 
endless  variety  of  wild  fowl  people  the  groves  and 
lakes  ;  the  luxurious  vegetation  of  the  soil  affords  am 
ple  nourishment  to  immense  flocks  and  herds,  which 
multiply  abundantly  in  the  meadows  and  inclosures. 


APPENDIX.  211 


No.  II. 

The  following  statement  comprehends  the  details 
relative  to  those  articles  of  commerce  which  by  their 
value  as  branches  of  the  public  wealth  in  the  United 
States,  and  by  their  large  consumption  in  the  island  of 
Cuba,  are  of  the  highest  mercantile  importance,  and  are 
of  great  interest  to  all  the  industrial  classes,  agricul 
tural  and  manufacturing  as  well  as  commercial.  The 
details  are  given  of  the  duties  with  which  each  of  these 
articles  are  burdened  by  the  tariff  of  the  government  of 
Cuba,  the  mode  of  valuation  so  exaggerated  as  to  double 
and  triple  the  amount  of  the  duties,  etc.,  etc. 

Summary  of  the  importation  of  certain  articles  that  have  a 
large  consumption  in  Cuba,  produced  by  the  United  States  ; 
to  which  is  added  a  classification  of  the  prices  on  which  they 
are  valued  by  the  tariff  of  Cuba,  and  the  duties  charged  on 
them  : 

Joist  or  scantling,  per  1000  feet,         -         -  $20  27£ 

Tar,  per  bbl. 3  do. 

Ploughs,  each            -----       6  do. 

Rice,  per  qq. 6  33£ 

Morocco,  per  doz.     -         -         -         -         -       7  50       do. 

Codfish,  qq.  Ibs.         -                                                3  50       27£ 

Plaids,  Scotch,  not  exceeding  38  inch.,  per  yd.  0  25       33 

Trunks,  leather,  each         -                                    8  33 

"         covered  with  hide                      4  33^ 
Flannels,  coarse,  6-4  yd.,  per  yd.        -         -       031       do. 

"               "         to  58  in  width,  per  yd.    -       0  50       do. 

Hogsheads,  each 2  27£ 

Hogshead  shocks 1  do. 

Half  boots,  pair 3  50       33^ 

Boots,             " 5  do. 

Brass,  manufactured,  qq.           -         -         -     37  50       33 

Mackerel,  per  bbl. 4  50       27* 

Geldings,  each          -                                        150  33£ 


212  APPENDIX. 


Copper  boilers,  qq.             - 

-  $37  50 

per  cent 

274 

Settees,  wood,  each 

-     10 

334 

3 

dn 

Preserved  meats,  per  In.    - 

-       0  50 

uu» 

do. 

Salt  beef,  per  bbl.      - 

-       9 

do. 

Pork,                »          - 

-     14 

do. 

Willow  wagons,  each         - 

-     12 

do. 

Carts,                       «•              - 

-  100 

do. 

Straw  wagons,      "             - 

4 

do. 

Hogs,  live,  .           " 

-     10 

do. 

Baskets,                  " 

1 

27i 

Copper  nails,  per  qq. 

-     25 

do. 

Copper,  manufactured,  per  qq. 

-     37  50 

33i 

Russia  sheeting,  ordinary,  per  yd. 

-       0  06^ 

do. 

Hn 

Bureaus,  each 

-     25 

U.(J» 

do. 

12  50 

do. 

Cotton  rope  or  cord,  per  piece   - 

0  06£ 

do.' 

Staves,  per  1000 

-     25 

do. 

Floor  matting,  per  yd.       - 

-       0  25 

Oakum,  per  qq.         - 

4 

33J 

Fringe,  cotton,  per  piece  - 

-       1 

do. 

"         silk,  per  yd.           - 

-       0  25 

do. 

Flannels,              "                - 

-       0  21 

do. 

Blankets,  each           - 

-       1  25 

do. 

Corn  meal,  per  bbl. 

-       5 

do. 

Flour,                 «      duty,  $10  50 

Sugar  moulds,  per  doz.      - 

-       6 

do. 

Soap,  per  bbl.             - 

-       2 

do. 

Cordage,  per  qq. 
Pianofortes,  each      - 

-     12 
-  300 

do. 
274 

Bricks,  per  1000        - 

-       6 

334 

Valise,  leather,  each          - 

-       6 

do. 

"         for  horsemen,  each 

-       2 

do. 

Cotton  shawls,  per  doz.     - 

-       4  50 

do. 

Silk           "         ordinary,  each   - 

-       2 

274 

Stockings,  cotton,  per  doz. 

-       3  50 

334 

"           wool,           » 

-       4 

do. 

Merino,  not  exceeding  one  yard  wide 

-       0  37 

do. 

Tables,  card,  one  leaf        - 

-     10 

do. 

"           "     two  leaves,    - 

-     12 

do. 

Candle  wick,  per  arr.          - 

-       6  25 

do. 

Cotton  handkerchiefs,  per  doz. 

-       1  75 

do. 

Potatoes,  per  bbl.      - 

-       2  50 

27i 

APPENDIX.  213 

per  cent 

Ruled  paper,  not  exceeding  26  inches  -  $6  33£ 

"  white,  "  MM  5  do. 

"  "  "  30  «*  8  do. 

"  letter  -  2  50  do. 

Shot,  per  qq.             _____  5  27£ 

Powder,     "               18  do. 

Oars,  per  100  ft. 6  25       do. 

Bags,  per  doz.           -         -         -         -  2  25       do. 

Silk  sewing  thread,  per  Ib.  3  do. 

Napkins,  per  doz.     -         -         -         -  0  75       33| 

Mahogany  chairs,  per  doz.         -         -         -  50  do. 

Maple             "             "                                   -  31  do. 

Ordinary        "             «*                                   -  15  50       do. 

Saddles 17  do. 

Hats,  each 3  do. 

Boards,  pine,  per  1000  -  20  27i 

"  maple,  "  -  -  -  -  25  do. 

Shingles,                    "          -         -         -  3  75       do. 

Sperm  candles,  per  qq.                -         -         -  32  do. 

Tallow      "               "                                        -  12  do. 

Shoes,  men's  or  boys',  per  doz.           -         -  15  33£ 

Summary  of  the  articles  of  importation  charged  with  duties, 
the  way  in  which  they  are  taxed,  and  those  which  are  free. 

The  duty  of  33i  per  cent,  is  imposed  on  824  articles. 

"     '         27£         «                  «  1908       " 

"        2  to  7i         "                  "  13       " 

Free  from  duties     -----  25       " 

$3T  The  articles  not  valued,  nor  precisely  taxed  by  the  tariff, 
are  appreciated  discretionally,  and  charged  with  duties  accord 
ing  to  the  prices  assigned  to  them. 

This  document  alone,  if  examined  with  attention, 
will  be  sufficient  to  demonstrate  plainly  the  innumerable 
and  grave  injuries  which  the  producing  classes  of  the 
United  States,  a,nd  the  consumers  of  Cuba,  suffer  by 
the  colonial  system  of  Spain,  which  can  find  no  better 
means  for  filling  the  royal  coffers  than  multiplying  the 
impost  with  which  it  fetters,  if  it  does  not  annihilate, 
the  commerce  of  its  rich  colony. 


214  APPENDIX. 


No.  III. 

Reply  to  a  pamphlet ',  entitled^  "  Thoughts  on  the  An 
nexation  of  Cuba  to  the  United  States,  by  Don 
Antonio  Saco,"  addressed  to  him  by  one  of  his 
friends. 

Preceded  by  applause  from  a  quarter  whence  the 
productions  of  Saco  had  never  before  obtained  it,  we 
have  seen  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Thoughts,"  etc.,  the 
work  of  the  distinguished  Bayamere,  who  is  the  honor 
and  pride  of  his  country.  It  would  be  needless  to  dis 
semble  the  pain  experienced  by  the  truly  Cuban  party, 
on  seeing  voluntarily  and  spontaneously  separated  from 
their  ranks  a  man  of  so  high  value,  and  still  more 
painful  must  it  some  day  be  to  Saco,  to  find  that  the 
prophetic  part  of  his  paper  is  /marked  by  the  same 
fallacy  which  more  than  once  has  accompanied  his  po 
litical  annunciations.  Happily  for  the  eventual  fate 
of  Cuba,  it  is  not  dependent  on  the  opinions  of  any 
one  man,  howsoever  high  his  authority  may  stand,  and 
least  so  of  those  of  one  who,  notwithstanding  his  genius 
and  acquirements,  is  controlled  by  blind  fanaticism. 
Linked,  as  the  fate  of  Cuba  is,  with  that  of  the  for 
tunate  people  who  surround  her,  relying  on  the  pro 
gress  of  republican  institutions,  and  on  the  philanthro 
pic  cosmopolitism  of  the  neighboring  commonwealths, 
and  on  the  American  beneficent  policy  contrasted  with 
that  of  Europe,  which  is  tyrannical  in  its  exercise  in 
this  hemisphere,  she  will  fulfill  her  destiny  notwith 
standing  the  only  obstacle,  exercising  a  moral  influ 
ence,  as  yet  presented  in  its  path,  which  is  the  pam 
phlet  of  Mr.  Saco. 

Before  continuing  in  this  ungrateful  task,  I  wish  to 


APPENDIX.  215 

acknowledge  the  embarrassment  I  experience  on  ac 
count  of  the  inequality  of  a  contest  with  one  enjoying 
a  European  name  as  a  writer  ;  the  strength  of  my  con 
victions,  and  the  urgency  and  gravity  of  the  subject, 
must  be  my  excuse. 

Of  a  certainty,  the  friends  of  the  unfortunate  Saco 
will  not  be  the  ones  to  accuse  him  of  receding  in  his 
views  through  apostasy,  or  of  staining  his  honorable 
career  by  being  sold  to  any  party.  The  explanation 
of  his  conduct  is  much  more  natural  and  in  harmony 
with  himself,  and  it  will  appear  altogether  so  if  we 
first  examine  what  constitutes  ultra  radicalism  in  Eu 
rope  and  democracy  in  America. 

During  the  past  twenty  years  the  political  passions 
of  the  European  countries  being  calmed,  and  they  all 
enjoying  uninterrupted  peace,  the  extreme  ultra  libe 
ral  banner,  of  a  nature  speculative  rather  than  active 
or  profound,  adopted  for  its  own  in  Europe  the  cause 
of  the  emancipation  of  the  negroes  ;  and  to  this  school, 
whose  errors  had  always  their  origin  in  its  fanaticism, 
Mr.  Saco  belongs.  Its  followers  assumed,  as  a  fact, 
the  want  of  good  faith  on  the  part  of  the  slaveholders, 
who  demanded  time  and  preparatory  measures  for  a 
change  in  the  condition  of  the  slaves  ;  and  in  order  to 
surmount  their  opposition,  they  always  resisted  the 
idea  of  colonial  independence,  because  they  understood 
that  to  secure  prompt  emancipation  nothing  could  be 
more  expedient  than  an  authority  distant,  European, 
free  from  the  influence  of  the  colonists,  and  subject  to 
that  of  the  British  government,  and  abolitionary  dis 
turbers  of  the  Eastern  Continent.  Experience  has 
shown  the  precision  of  this  calculation ;  violent  eman 
cipations  have  already  taken  place,  or  are  expected  in 
the  several  colonies  governed  from  Europe,  and  in 
them  property,  the  value  of  which  depends  on  slavery, 
is  constantly  suffering  from  uncertainty  and  deprecia 
tion.  In  the  United  States,  on  the  contrary,  the  moral 
progress  of  the  enslaved  race,  and  of  the  legislation 


216  APPENDIX. 

which  regulates  the  same,*  is  slow  but  certain,  and  the 
property  of  this  nature  does  not  exhibit  in  the  market 
the  absolute  impossibility  of  being  sold,  or  the  unex 
pected  depression  of  value  which  affects  them  with  us 
at  each  political  transition  of  the  metropolis. 

Let  us  now  see  what  constitute  the  banners  of  pro 
gress  in  the  North  American  Republic. 

The  democratic  majority  of  the  United  States  sup 
ports  political,  religious,  and  commercial  freedom,  and 
believes  in  the  philanthropic  mission  of  their  country 
to  extend  the  same  throughout  this  hemisphere ;  and  at 
the  same  time  acknowledge  that  slavery  is  constitutional 
and  beyond  the  reach  of  abolitionary  cabal,  but  not 
beyond  the  moral  influence  of  civilization  which  slowly 
prepares  its  peaceful  termination.  Such  is,  in  my  view, 
the  expression  of  public  opinion  in  the  United  States, 
of  that  opinion  which,  being  the  result  of  the  contest  of 
of  parties,  guides  the  acts  of  the  government.  The 
democracy  of  the  South  is  distinguished  by  their  wisdom, 
their  daring,  and  the  tenacity  and  address  with  which 
they  exert  their  influence  in  the  counsels  of  the  nation, 
and  defend  their  rights  over  their  slave  property. 

I  would  have  wished  to  have  succeeded  in  drawing 
the  above  sketch  so  as  to  explain  the  position  in  which 
Mr.  Saco  appears  at  this  moment,  and  why  he  dislikes 
annexation  to  a  government  which  does  not  assign  an 
absolute  importance  to  his  negrophitism.  We  will 
now  go  on  to  examine  his  pamphlet.  His  opposition  to 
annexation  is  founded  on  his  regret  for  Cuban  nation 
ality ,  which  would  become  extinct,  and  on  the  dangers 
attending  the  change,  although  he  acknowledges  the 
material  advantages  which  would  result  from  the  act.f 

The  Hispano-  Cuban  nationality  should  be  adorned 

*  The  greater  part  of  the  asperity  of  the  Code  Noir  has  disap 
peared. — Debon's  Magazine,  1846. 

t  This  concession  is  very  important,  and  quite  distinct  from  what 
we  read  in  the  official  gazette  of  Havaaia,  wherein  it.  is  stated  that 
the  fountains  of  wealth  would  be  dried  up  by  annexation. 


APPENDIX.  217 

with  the  characteristics  of  Spanish.  It  should  love  its 
origin.  It  should  reproduce  its  habits,  glory  in  its 
historical  remembrances — in  the  institutions  and  deeds 
of  their  people  and  of  their  government.  As  long  as 
Cuba  be  a  colony,  can  the  spirit  of  national  unity  be 
aroused  without  laws,  or  institutions,  or  public  life, 
or  political  dignity?  Can  we  glory  in  any  thing  simi 
lar  to  that  which  despoils  and  oppresses  us  ?  Can  it 
be  that  the  establishment  of  a  Cuban  nationality  for 
the  future,  requires  of  us  to  preserve  the  dependence 
which  is  physically  and  morally  ruining  us  1 — that  is 
to  say,  the  present  political  system !  Can  we  expect 
from  an  ignominious  school  of  progressive  degradation 
noble  and  generous  effects  1  Will  it  be  said  that  Spain 
will  follow  the  impulse  of  the  age — granting,  in  imita 
tion  of  the  other  European  powers,  institutions  to  Cuba, 
and  that  by  this  means  another  sentiment  of  Cuban 
nationality  will  be  nourished  1  I  answer  that  this  is 
morally  impossible.  Spain,  or  rather  the  cabinet  of 
Madrid,  will  ever  keep  the  only  order  of  things  advan 
tageous  for  the  ministers.  To  give  institutions  to 
Cuba  is  to  put  a  limit  to  fiscal  demands,  to  the  inex 
haustible  mine  of  grants  and  monoplies  ;  to  the  security 
of  favorite  claimants  on  the  treasury  ;  to  the  monopoly 
of  flour,  and  of  the  Spanish  flag.  To  give  institutions 
is  to  invite  emigration  of  the  white  population  of  other 
countries,  to  establish  militia,  and  to  put  a  stop  to 
that  uninterrupted  outpouring  of  forced  recruits,  who 
impoverish  Spain  at  home  without  insuring  her  domin 
ion  here.  To  give  institutions  is  to  open  the  eyes  of 
the  Europeans  as  well  as  of  the  Creoles,  and  to  inform 
the  industrious  and  honest  class,  no  matter  where  they 
are  from,  that  the  fruit  of  their  labor  disappears  under 
the  irresponsible  rule  of  the  officials  of  government. 
To  give  institutions  is  to  do  away  with  the  economical 
obstacles  which  impede  the  agricultural  development 
of  Cuba.  It  is  thereby  to  give  her  the  means  to  com 
pete  with  all  countries  producing  sugar,  and  to  raise 
10 


218  APPENDIX. 

her  to  that  position  which  is  her  due  in  this  hemisphere. 
To  give  institutions  is  to  secure  slave  property,  and  to 
improve  the  condition  of  the  slaves  which  is  the  imme 
diate  consequence  of  that  security.  Lastly,  to  give 
institutions  to  Cuba  is  to  substitute  relations  of  recipro 
cal  advantages  for  the  tyranny  of  the  strongest,  thereby 
making  the  metropolitan  court  indifferent  in  holding 
the  reins  of  the  government. 

Is  there  any  one  of  these  effects  of  institutions  which 
is  not  opposed  to  the  policy  on  which  Spain  grounds  her 
dominion  ?  When  all  the  officials  employed,  or,  if  you 
please,  the  participators  in  the  spoils  of  the  island, 
unite  in  praising  the  liberality  and  the  advantages  of 
the  present  system,  is  there  any  sense  in  anticipating 
change  or  reform  1  What  less  could  be  expected  from 
a  government  having  some  self-respect,  not  merely  for 
the  weal  of  the  American  subjects,  but  to  preserve  the 
unity  of  the  administration  of  distant  provinces,  and 
to  consolidate  their  dependence,  than  the  establish 
ment  of  a  colonial  ministry  1  This  was  the  only  re 
quest  of  the  Cubans  in  their  paper  published  in  Madrid, 
under  the  title  of  the  Observador  (de  Ultramar),  edited, 
with  courtesy  and  talent,  by  Senor  de  Armas.  Was 
the  object  attained  1  If  this  demand,  which  was  useful 
to  the  Spanish  nation,  was  not  granted  because  it  was 
opposed  to  the  personal  advantages  of  the  several  mem 
bers  of  the  cabinet,  what  can  be  expected  with  refer 
ence  to  such  as  are  solely  to  benefit  the  colonies,  how 
ever  equitable  and  just  they  may  be  ? 

Were  it  possible  to  give  birth  to  a  Hispano- Cuban 
nationality,  the  first  step  to  be  taken  should  be  to  blot 
out  the  past,  above  all,  the  most  recent,  acts  of  the 
Spanish  administration — those  from  whence  can  be  in 
ferred  what  is  to  be  expected  in  future.  To  forget  the 
policy  which  subjects,  the  administration  which  de 
stroys,  the  barbarous  cruelty  which  despoils  and  insults, 
and  then  to  bring  to  mind  the  glories  of  ancient  Spain, 
and  awaken  the  love  to  our  ancestors  innate  in  the  heart 


APPENDIX.  219 

of  man,  would  be  the  true,  the  only  course.  Without 
the  previous  separation,  there  is  no  hope  of  political  re 
form,  and  while  oppression  is  weighing  upon  us,  the 
patriotism  of  the  Cubans  will  only  dwell  upon  grievan 
ces  and  bitter  recriminations.  To  preach  another  phi 
losophy,  is  not  to  know  the  spring  of  the  human  heart, 
"  Because  the  eternal  laws  written  by  nature  in  the 
heart  of  man  (Mr.  Saco's  own  words)  prohibit  that  we 
should  love  the  tyrant  that  oppresses  ;  no,  not  even  if 
he  be  our  own  father."  But  take  away  from  the 
Spanish  Creole  the  weight  of  his  political  degradation, 
and  the  obstacles  curtailing  the  fruits  of  his  industry, 
and  he  will  be  observed,  as  it  has  happened  in  South 
America,  to  turn  his  eyes  to  the  land  of  his  forefathers, 
and  to  press  to  his  heart  sacred  ties  which,  on  the  basis 
of  equality,  cannot  vilify  him.  Spanish  America  after 
her  independence,  and  Louisiana  after  her  annexation 
to  the  United  States,  gave  testimony  to  this  yearning 
of  the  Americans  toward  the  European  races  from 
whence  they  derived  their  origin. 

The  last-named  country  has  so  many  points  of  re 
semblance  and  contact  with  our  island,  and  its  history 
so  fully  contradicts  the  inferences  of  Mr.  Saco,  that  it 
has  seemed  to  me  the  most  victorious  refutation,  to  lay 
before  him  facts  which  are  something  more  than  ground 
less  prophecies.  Forty-five  years  are  now  elapsed 
since  the  First  Consul  sold  Louisiana.  Has  her  French 
nationality  been  forgotten  ?  Have  French  habits,  cus 
toms,  and  tastes  been  lost  1  Has  even  the  trade  with 
their  ancient  metropolis  become  diminished  ?  We  read 
in  Marbois'  history,  written  twenty  years  after  the 
purchase,  that  the  commerce  between  Louisiana  and 
France  had  swelled  to  ten  times  what  it  had  been  with 
the  colony.  "  Our  commerce  of  import,"  said  the  min 
ister  of  commerce,  in  his  report  to  the  French  chambers 
in  1838,  "  however  satisfactory  in  its  development, 
ought  to  be  more  important  yet,  with  a  country  where 


220  APPENDIX. 

two  thirds  of  the  population  have  preserved  French 
habits  and  tastes." 

In  our  day,  the  domestic  customs  of  Louisiana ;  the 
manners  of  her  inhabitants  ;  the  public  amusements  on 
Sunday,  which  take  place  on  that  day  in  no  other  state 
in  the  Union  ;  the  French  theatre  and  opera,  all  testi 
fy  to  the  origin,  and  fondness  for  their  ancient  habits, 
of  those  citizens  of  the  republic  who  are  still  French. 

Their  laws,  which  have  gathered  the  good  of  those 
of  Spain  and  France,  accommodating  it  to  the  type  of 
the  new  institutions,  written  in  French,  and  the  whole 
sessions  of  their  assemblies  and  courts,  with  the  speeches 
uttered  alternately  in  either  language,  all  of  which  is 
published  in  French,  equally  testify.  Louisiana's  very 
history  has  just  been  given  to  the  public  by  Monsieur 
Gallard  (1846),  in  the  language  of  their  fathers  ;  on 
which  subject  the  author  says,  "  Je  dirai  done  que 
sachant  que  la  plupart  de  nos  Louisianaises  ne  lisent 
guere  Panglais,  j'ai  pens6  qu'en  ecrivant  la  langue  qui 
leur  est  familiere,  elles  seraient  tent^es  par  un  senti 
ment  de  curiosit6  de  jeter  les  yeux  sur  les  pages  de 
cette  histoire,  et  peutetre  de  les  lire  jusqu'aux  bout," 
etc.,  etc. 

What  else  is  this  than  the  preserving  of  nationality, 
or  at  least  of  that  part  of  the  feeling  which  moves  and 
satisfies  the  heart.  Can  it  be  said  that  the  result  will 
be  different  in  Cuba  ?  Is  it  the  intention  to  alarm  the 
Spanish  race  with  the  word  absorption  ?  Why  will  the 
Americans  absorb  a  population  of  one  million  two  hun 
dred  thousand  inhabitants,  when  they  did  not  do  so 
with  the  seventy-six  thousand  inhabitants  who  peopled 
Louisiana  in  1810  ?  Can  the  circumstances  of  the 
time  and  of  the  soil  be  different  ?  Let  us  see  :  scarce 
ly  had  Louisiana  become  a  part  of  the  American  con 
federacy,  when  she  was  freed  from  the  colonial  ties 
which  embarrassed  her  progress,  and  the  quantity  and 
fertility  of  the  lands  which  the  new  government  placed 
within  the  reach  of  speculators  and  settlers,  and  the 


APPENDIX.  221 

instantaneous  appearance  of  her  productions  in  the 
sugar  market,  make  it  evident  that  there  existed  great 
stimulants  calculated  to  call  American  emigration, 
-to  be  supposed  in  Cuba  in  case  of  annex- 
because  Oregon,  California,  New  Mexico, 
and  other  free  states,  offer  greater  inducements  to 
white  emigrants,  without  the  competition  of  the  slave, 
nor"~lhe  obstacles  of  the  climate;  second,  because  we 
are  not  in  possession  of  the  immense  tracts  of  land  not 
appropriated,  which  were  in  abundance  in  Louisiana ; 
third,  because  Spanish  emigrants  would  naturally  find 
better  reception  among  those  of  their  race  than  for 
eigners  ;  fourth,  because  among  the  various  signs  which 
Cuba  has  of  constituting  in  herself  a  nation,  not  to  be 
found  in  the  early  history  of  that  state,  one  is,  the 
possession  of  vast  capital  of  her  own  ;  and  scarcely 
would  the  rise  be  foreshadowed  which  the  new  institu 
tions  would  give  to  landed  property,  when  the  resident 
capitalists  of  the  Spanish  Main  would  be  the  first  to 
compete  with  foreigners  in  speculations  of  this  nature.* 
Mr.  -S«uio  supposes  that  the  peninsular  Spaniards  .would 
abandon  .the  soil  of  Cuba  immediately  after  annexation. 
What  took  place  in  Louisiana,  with  the  French  ? 

The  latter  were  in  want,  in  America,  of  an  asylum 
with  the  type  of  their  nation,  where  the  industry  of 
man  should  be  unfettered  by  legislation.  The  ma 
gic  of  "liberal  institutions,  therefore,  produced  its  in 
evitable  effect.  So  far  from  abandoning  their  new 
country,  the  French  settlers  of  the  colony  shared  the 
advantages  of  the  new  rule,  and  when  the  insurrection 
of  St.  Domingo  took  place,  a  large  number  of  the  fugi 
tive  colonists,  in  preference  to  other  dependencies  of 
their  government,  found  shelter  and  wealth  in  that 
reflection  of  their  distant  country. 

*  "  If  I  were  to  adjust  the  conditions,"  said  Napoleon,  while  treat 
ing  for  the  sale  of  Louisiana,  "  on  the  value  which  those  immense 
territories  will  have  for  the  United  States,  the  indemnification  would 
be  without  limits." 


APPENDIX. 

The  Spaniards  on  both  hemispheres  are,  perhaps, 
the  people  who  more  seriously  suffer  from  having  be 
gun  their  political  reform  in  a  selfish  and  speculating 
age,  which  sneers  at  warm  enthusiasm  and  patriotism. 
Corruption  and  discouragement  seem  to  be  the  insep 
arable  concomitant  of  the  useless  attempt  at  self-gov 
ernment  of  the  large  Spanish  family,  both  in  Europe 
and  in  America.  When  a  nation,  like  the  island  of 
Cuba,  governed  by  its  own  laws,  sheltered  from  the 
scourge  of  intestine  commotions  under  the  mantle  of 
the  American  confederacy,  were  to  present  itself  to 
the  Spanish  people,  with  their  customs  and  habits, 
peaceful,  prosperous,  and  free,  who  can  doubt  that 
from  all  America,  and  even  from  Spain,  the  sons  and 
descendants  of  the  latter  would  flock  to  the  island,  and 
that  in  the  concurrence  of  European  races,  which  con 
stitute  the  emigration  from  the  United  States,  the 
Spanish  trunk  would  preserve  the  supremacy  which 
appertains  to  it.  America  is  the  asylum  of  the  op 
pressed  of  all  Europe,  and  the  government  of  the 
Union,  that  which  approaches  most  to  perfection,  by 
indefinitely  diffusing  enjoyments  :  her  nationality  is  the 
practical  realization  of  cosmopolitanism.  The  expan 
sive  views  of  her  policy  find  no  obstacle  in  the  origin 
of  her  citizens.  The  Dutch  peopled  New  York,  the 
Swedes  New  Jersey  and  Delaware,  the  Germans  Penn 
sylvania,  the  French  flew  to  South  Carolina  after  the 
revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  and  in  Louisiana 
and  Florida  the  French  and  Spanish  still  preserve  the 
usages  of  their  ancestors.  The  American  citizen, 
therefore,  signifies  the  participator,  the  admirer,  and 
defender  of  free  institutions,  and  this  democracy  prop 
agating  its  principles,  which  has  commenced  to  diffuse 
its  breath  through  Spanish  America,  is  chiefly  com 
posed  of  Europeans.  Under  the  shade  of  the  splendid 
tree  of  liberty,  planted  in  the  last  century,  by  the  per 
secuted  of  the  old  world,  all  nationalities  have  flour 
ished.  Can  it  be  that  the  Spanish  race  are  the  only 


APPENDIX.  223 

one  incapable  of  expansion,  and  regeneration,  far  from 
the  vices,  the  exactions,  and  the  privileges  of  despots  ? 

Such  is  the  extension  that  in  these  states  has  been 
given  to  the  right  of  citizenship,  and  such  the  consequent 
political  importance  acquired  by  foreigners,  that  not 
many  years  ago  a  party  came  into  existence  called  the 
Native  Americans,  who  attempted  to  restrict  the  rights 
enjoyed  by  the  former.  This  useless  attempt,  after 
having  created  great  excitement,  had  to  be  given  up, 
and  the  liberal  policy  became,  if  any  thing,  better 
established  and  secured,  which  had  so  much  raised 
that  people  in  the  scale  of  nations. 

JBujL-Mr.-.Saco  expresses  fears  on  account  of  reli- 
gioiiS-bfilief,  which  we  cannot  comprehend,  coming  from 
him.  Is  JSaco  ignorant  that  the  Catholic,  Apostolic, 
and  Roman  religion  has  always  existed  in  the, United 
States,  and  is  diffusing  itself  to  a  great  extent?  Is  he 
ignorant  that  the  Catholic  institutions  of  education  and 
beneficence  shine  throughout  the  American  Union? 
Does  he  not  know  that  the  Catholic  clergy  presents  in 
these  states  an  example  of  unction,  of  wisdom,  and  of 
evangelic  charity,  which  produces  the  most  salutary 
effects  on  public  morals  ;  or,  peradventure,  in  order  to 
preserve  the  national  type,  would  he  wish  to  preserve 
the  scandal  and  the  ignorance  which  are  the  distinctive 
traits  of'  the  priests  in  Cuba,  and  even  in  Spain  1  In 
fidelity,  absolute  indifference  to  the  truths  of  Chris 
tianity,  and  looseness  of  the  passions  constitute  the 
morality  of  which  we  take  pride  in  boasting.  Can  it 
be  that  liberty  of  worship  should  appear  foreign  and 
in  bad  taste  to  Mr.  Saco  ?  If  that  liberty  has  puri 
fied  Catholicity,  and  raised  it  to  the  noble  station 
which  it  occupies  in  the  neighboring  republic,  well 
might  these  advantages  compensate  the  want  of  that 
exclusiveness  in  a  religion  without  faith,  having  no 
object  but  the  pecuniary  advantages  of  its  ministers. 

Does  Mr.  Saco  imagine  that  foreign  absorption  would  7" 
be  the  consequence  of  annexation?     Let  him  reflect 


224  APPENDIX. 

that  this  important  act  has  in  itself  no  attraction  to  the 
emigrant ;  outlets  to  be  opened  to  the  exertions  and 
natural  scope  of  the  human  mind,  institutions,  liberty 
in  its  various  applications  ;  these  are  the  stimuli  which 
would  induce  the  coming  of  the  citizens  of  the  neigh 
boring  republic.  Let  Cuba  become  a  free  republic 
and  in  that  character  open  her  doors  to  the  whole  hu 
man  .race,  and  then  such  as  would  look  For  a  homo  in 
her  territory  annexed  to  the  United  States,  would'equally 
ask  for  an  asylum  in  her  as  an  independent  and  free 
state.  Can  it  then  be  objected  that"^epfived  of  Ameri 
can  support,  she  would  offer  less  security,  stability, 
and,  therefore,  less  inducement  to  the  contemplated  ab 
sorption  by  the  latter?  In  that  case,  our  better  judg 
ment  would  surely  guide  us  not  to  sacrifice  the  peace 
and  tranquillity  of  a  people  to  the  worship  of  nationality, 
to  an  idea  which  the  tendencies  of  the  times  are  fast 
blotting  out  for  the  benefit  of  humanity.  The  absorp 
tion  which  so  much  harasses  Mr.  Saco,  will  take 
place,  he  asserts,  by  the  peaceful  workings  of  the  ma 
jorities,  because  the  Americans  will  form  a  majority 
when  we  shall  appear  at  the  electoral  urns.  Let  us 
examine  what  happened  in  the  neighboring  state,  and 
every  body  may  judge  for  himself  on  this  fixed  and  sure 
theme. 

Eight  years  after  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  its 
constitution  was  framed  by  a  convention  composed  of 
forty  representatives,  of  whom  twenty-two  were  of 
French  origin,  and  in  the  meanwhile  the  Louisianians 
had  been  sustained  and  protected  in  the  enjoyment  of 
freedom  and  their  religious  worship  and  property,  and 
the  laws  in  existence  under  the  preceding  governments 
had  continued  in  force,  all  in  conformity  to  the  treaty 
of  the  30th  of  April,  1803. 

That  constitution  established  the  legislative  power 
in  two  houses,  senate  and  assembly.  Every  white 
citizen  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  with  property  worth 
$500,  and  two  years'  residence  in  the  state,  could  be 


APPENDIX.  225 

elected  representative.  Every  citizen  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  paying  taxes,  had  a  right  to  vote  after  one  year's 
residence.  For  senator,  four  years'  residence  in  the 
state,  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  and  property  worth 
$1000  were  required.  Under  a  similar  constitution 
would  the  inducements  raise  foreign  over  native  or 
Spanish  influence  1  But  the  political  importance  of 
Cuba,  and  her  present  mercantile  relations  with  the 
civilized  world,  wrould  call  for  her  instantaneous  settle 
ment  and  quiet,  and  the  immediate  formation  of  her 
constitution  without  even  the  short  respite  which  inter 
vened  in  that  of  Louisiana.  However  great  the  inter 
mediate  emigration,  it  is  idle  to  fear  any  other  influence 
than  that  of  our  race  would  prevail  in  the  establish 
ment  of  the  new  government  and  the  administration  of 
the  state. 

Mr.  Saco  says  he  would  not  fear  the  absorption  if  we 
had  a  million  and  a  half  of  white  population,  instead  of 
500,000.  (Let  him  consider  that  out  of  the  76,000 
inhabitants^which  Louisiana  possessed,  only  42,000 
were  white,  and,  withal,  that  in  the  elections  for  the 
state  department  of  1843,  the  preponderance  of  the 
names  of  the  ancient  French  families  wras  yet  preserved, 
while  the  whole  population  had  swelled  to  six  times 
their  original  numbers.  O 

Well  may  he  therefore  vote  for  annexation  in  the 
case  which  he  alluded  to,  suffocating  in  his  breast,  as 
he  says,  his  national  regrets.  And  in  order  to  allay 
the  intensity  of  his  feelings,  I  will  endeavor  to  revive 
before  him  some  of  the  innovations  which  have  been 
imposed  upon  Cuba  since  his  absence  from  his  native 
country.  General  Tacon,  who,  as  Mr.  Saco  knows, 
commenced  a  series  of  encroachments  on  the  rights  of 
the  Cubans,  did  not  launch  himself  in  that  course 
which  places  the  despotism  of  the  sovereign  in  the 
hands  of  an  irresponsible  subaltern  without  some  spe 
cies  of  modesty,  or  some  respect  for  public  opinion. 
Not  counting  on  the  support  of  the  ancient  corporations 
10* 


226  APPENDIX. 

of  the  country,  he  convoked  meetings  of  proprietors, 
where  measures  of  safety  were  discussed,  and  where 
the  establishment  of  new  taxes  was  solicited,  and  only 
obtained  on  conditions  which  he  did  not  accept. 

To  commence  from  this  one  act,  how  great  is  the 
number  which  have  followed,  tracing  the  gradual  usurp 
ation  of  authority  and  contempt  of  Cuban  rights. 
Not  long  since,  with  the  single  advice  of  one  of  the 
lieutenant-governors,  the  chief  magistrate  created  a  tax 
on  the  plantations  for  the  support  of  jail  prisoners,  and 
this  monstrous  power,  so  varied  in  its  attributes,  was 
not  at  all  embarrassed  at  having  monopolized  about  the 
same  time  a  profit  on  slaves  judicially  embargoed,  which, 
had  it  been  made  available  to  the  community,  would 
have  obviated  the  new  impost  in  the  very  district  where 
it  was  enacted. 

The  junta  of  six  individuals  named  by  the  cabinet 
to  enact  the  special  laws  for  Cuba,  suspended  their 
labors,  which  were  never  recommenced,  because  at 
whatever  time  they  should  act,  they  would  be  obliged 
to  limit  the  authority  of  the  chief.  As  time  passes, 
and  the  class  of  officials  become  more  accustomed  to 
justify  their  encroachment,  and  the  opportunities  of 
being  heard  and  attended  in  their  requests  are  taken 
away  from  the  colonists,  does  Mr.  Saco  see  greater 
chances  of  the  reforms  coming  from  Spain  ? 

The  faculties  of  the  corporations  have  been  restrict 
ed,  and  the  filling  up  of  their  vacancies  gradually 
made  more  dependent  on  the  will  of  the  captain- 
general.  This  has  been  done  by  means  of  royal  orders, 
of  secret  requisitions,  and  of  despotic  acts. 

The  Royal  Court  of  Justice  declared  itself  incompe 
tent  to  take  cognizance  of  the  complaint  made  by  the 
corporation  of  Matanzas  of  the  depredations  commit 
ted  by  the  troops  during  a  fire,  and  the  members  of 
that  body  were  fined  and  suspended  from  office  by  the 
captain-general. 

The  new  tithe  recently  imposed  without  the  advice 


APPENDIX.  227 

of  the  corporation  of  the  country,  as  was  the  case  with 
former  taxation  ;  the  malice  which  has  allowed  a  suit 
to  be  commenced  against  every  owner  who  had  to  prove 
his  exemption  from  the  same  ;  and  the  dark  and  corrupt 
dealings  of  the  tithe  gatherers,  who  enrich  themselves 
on  the  sweat  of  the  poor,  on  the  economy  of  the  wealthy, 
frequently  defrauding  the  public  treasury  as  a  price  of 
their  report,  allowed  to  play  a  singular  unjustifiable  part 
in  the  regular  proceedings  of  the  law,  these  are  some 
of  the  astonishing  signs  of  progress. 

The  liberality  of  the  tariffs,  since  the  ancient  Con- 
sulado  or  Junta  de  Fornento  has  no  consultive  vote  in 
the  matter,  is  fast  disappearing.* 

The  monopoly  in  the  localities  for  the  sales  of  meat 
and  fish,  established  by  Tacon,  of  his  own  will,  and 
which  at  once  raised  the  price  of  those  necessaries  of 
life  to  eighty  per  cent,  of  their  value,  is  still  in  exist 
ence  notwithstanding  occasional  conversations  on  the 
subject  of  their  removal. f 

On  the  occasion  of  the  perspective  want  and  misery, 
announced  in  consequence  of  the  hurricane  of  1844, 
the  local  authorities  ventured  to  reduce  the  import 
duties  on  American  rice  and  corn,  not  meddling  with 
wheat  flour,  in  dread  of  the  all-powerful  interest  of  the 
commerce  of  Santander ;  and  these  reductions  were 
only  granted  for  six  months.  A  minister  of  finances 
was  found  who,  before  the  expiration  of  the  appointed 
time,  ordered  the  suspension  of  the  concession,  and 
good  faith  toward  foreign  commerce  was  broken,  and 

*  In  comparing  tariffs  of  different  epochs,  we  cannot  judge  by  the 
rates  alone;  the  regularity  and  security  of  the  contraband  trade  in 
times  past,  made  th^ir  valuation  and  per  ceniage  duty  in  fact  very 
moderate,  and  their  effects  very  similar  to  lhat  of  free  trade. 

t  Mr.  Olozaza,  the  leader  of  the  progressive  parly  in  Spain,  proved 
in  his  defence  of  the  corporation  of  Havana,  that  in  the  transaction 
of  these  sales,  Tacon  was  moved  by  interested  or  pecuniary  motives 
of  a  mysterious  nature,  never  cleared  before  the  public  by  that  gen 
eral.  I  intentionally  quote  the  source,  on  account  of  the  favorable 
prejudice  in  favor  of  iho  latter  among  a  certain  class  of  the  American, 
public. 


228  APPENDIX. 

the  sympathy  toward  the  afflicted  colonists  was  met 
with  a  sneer. 

The  tedious  course  of  obtaining  personal  licenses, 
and  their  price,  have  raised  the  charges  on  the  citi 
zens  ;  have  added  to  the  insolence  of  the  subaltern 
officers  of  the  police,  while  the  revenue  of  the  latter, 
and  of  the  only  legislator  in  the  matter,  has  been 
greatly  increased. 

The  lottery  which  consisted  of  17,500  numbers,  has 
been  raised  to  37,500,  and  the  drawings  have  likewise 
been  increased. 

On  General  Valdez  (who  is  generally  acknowledged 
to  be  both  liberal  and  enlightened  in  his  views)  being 
apprised  that  the  Junta  de  Fomento  were  going  to 
make  a  report  on  the  depressed  state  of  the  island,  he 
commanded  the  board,  through  the  commissioners  who 
had  called  to  ask  his  approval  of  their  purpose,  that 
they  should  abstain  from  so  doing  ! 

That  part  of  the  revenue  drawn  from  the  products 
of  the  industry  of  the  country  to  cover  the  salaries, 
fees,  and  perquisites  of  the  military,  political,  and  civil 
officers  of  government,  has  been  slowly  and  forever 
taken  away  from  the  native  Cubans,  and  passed  to  the 
Europeans,  who,  by  this  cunning  measure,  deprive  the 
families  of  the  land  of  one  of  the  most  important 
sources  of  wealth  and  of  influence  in  any  community. 
If  Mr.  Saco  could,  by  himself,  examine  the  effect  of 
this  policy,  in  which  the  several  rulers  have  united 
unhesitatingly,  and  if  he  would  then  compare  the  social 
importance  that  the  Creoles  had  when  he  was  on  the 
island  with  that  which  they  now  possess — even  those 
who  from  their  hierarchy  he  supposes  might  lose  by 
annexation,  how  well  he  would  understand  what  con 
stitutes  a  true  absorption,  founded  on  the  injustice 
and  despotism  of  the  conqueror  ! 

The  prudence  and  skill  of  the  rural  by-laws  are  at 
an  end,  as  well  as  their  observance,  since  the  consulado 
has  no  hand  in  the  enacting  of  the  same,  nor  do  the 
planters  look  after  their  execution. 


APPENDIX.  229 

The  reports  of  the  above-mentioned  board  having 
been  remarkable  for  their  opposition  to  the  African 
slave  trade,  the  influence  of  the  despotic  chiefs,  by  art 
ful  efforts  and  threats  easier  to  be  understood  than  ex 
plained,  succeeded  in  introducing  among  the  members 
speculators  in  the  trade,  and  the  result  has  been  the 
first  report  decidedly  opposed  to  white  emigration  which, 
in  the  present  times,  has  emanated  from  that  body. 

From  the  want  of  police,  disquietude  was  introduced 
and  increased  among  the  colored  race. 

Conniving  at  crimes  and  insubordinate  acts  of  slav 
ery,  the  venality  of  the  officials  and  judges  has  been 
slowly  nourishing  the  germ  of  servile  insurrection. 

The  atrocious  method  of  investigating  and  repressing 
the  slave  conspiracy  in  1844,  the  horrors  and  inefficacy 
of  which  is  now  acknowledged  by  all,  demonstrated, 
beyond  any  possible  doubt,  how  absurd  it  is  to  deprive 
the  class  of  proprietors  from  participating  in  the  ad 
ministration  and  government  of  a  slave  country. 

The  witchcraft  and  superstitious  practices  of  the 
worship  of  savages,  developed  in  the  course  of  that 
frightful  prosecution,  discovered  the  hideous  fact  that 
not  even  the  scant  religious  instruction  which  our  fa 
thers  gave  to  their  slaves,  do  our  own  receive,  at  pres 
ent,  at  our  hands.  In  truth,  hardly  can  it  be  said  that 
baptism  is  practiced  ;  marriage  is  daily  becoming  more 
scarce,  and  the  heart  of  the  wretched  slave  does  not 
even  receive  the  comfort  of  faith. 

The  enactments  regarding  the  colored  people,  con 
tained  in  the  by-laws  of  General  Valdez,  dangerous  in 
asmuch  as  not  consistent  with  a  system  in  which  the 
proprietors  are  excluded  from  the  administration  and 
defence  of  the  country ;  the  by-laws  which,  for  the 
same  class,  were  published  by  the  last  governor  of  Porto 
Rico,  breathing  cruel ty  and  blood  ;  the  subsequent  laws 
of  the  same  nature  recently  published  by  his  successor, 
announcing  freedom  and  emancipation,  and,  generally 
speaking,  the  relaxation  of  discipline  in  the  manage-  j*. 


280  APPENDIX. 

ment  of  the  free  and  enslaved  blacks,  which  has  been 
remarked  in  Cuba  as  either  preceded  or  followed  by 
excessive  severity  or  cruelty,  are  so  many  means  of 
keeping  us  alarmed,  with  which  the  abolitionists  would 
desire  ever  to  haunt  the  slave-owners,  and  which  would 
not  exist  were  the  interested  parties  able  to  provide  by 
themselves  for  the  quiet  and  safety  of  both. 

Without  religious  teaching,  or  political  education,  or 
the  excitement  of  political  ambition — without  the  light 
obtained  by  the  interchange  and  freedom  of  thought, 
sordid  motives  of  gain  or  a  reckless  routine  has  guided 
the  actions  of  the  agents  of  production  ;  and  while  the 
slave  trade  supplied,  at  a  low  rate,  the  hands  de 
manded  lay  industry,  it  was  found  to  be  an  insupporta 
ble  weight  to  accompanjr,  in  the  assortment  of  slaves 
on  a  plantation,  a  corresponding  number  of  women,  or 
to  give  additional  care  to  the  latter  during  their  preg 
nancy,  and  their  offspring  after  their  birth  :  it  has 
been  also  as  bad  business  to  take  care  of  the  sick,  to 
prevent  sickness,  and  to  facilitate  to  the  slaves  the  com 
fort  which  the  most  miserable  of  them  obtains  for  him 
self  as  soon  as  he  becomes  free.  It  is  by  such  a  course 
that  the  friends  of  the  African  trade  have  succeeded 
in  discrediting  all  essays  of  free  labor,  however  par 
tial,  which  have  been  heretofore  attempted.  Thus  it 
is  also  that  we  may  explain  by  what  means  the  agri 
culture  of  Cuba  has  been  productive.  Reducing  the 
price  of  labor,  encouraging  the  neglect  of  the  most 
sacred  duties  of  the  master,  the  African  slave  trade 
has  in  reality  been  the  source  of  wealth,  and  the  rem 
edy  which  the  planters  found  to  withstand  the  exces 
sive  burdens  which  press  on  our  productions.  If  they 
lent  a  sympathizing  ear  to  the  impulses  of  their  own 
heart,  they  failed  to  prosper  ;  cruelty  and  fortune  they 
saw  on  one  side,  pity  and  ruin  on  the  other.  Let  the 
responsibility  of  the  results  fall,  not  on  the  traders  or 
cultivators  who  imported  or  acquired  the  slaves,  but 
on  those  who  over-taxed  enterprise  and  industry,  and 


APPENDIX.  231 

sanctioned  that  trade  which  demoralizes  the  people, 
and  removes  farther  off  the  regeneration  of  the  negro. 
Here,  then,  lies  the  secret  of  the  prosperity  and  pro 
gress  of  the  island  of  Cuba ;  here  the  ability  of  the 
administration.  The  island  might  have  prospered 
much  more  without  building  its  fortunes  on  piles  of 
African  victims,  by  preserving  and  augmenting  the 
number  of  her  slaves,  by  natural  increase,  by  improving 
their  morals,  and  enlarging  the  range  of  their  comforts 
under  a  more  liberal  government,  and  with  lighter  tax 
ation.  These  are  the  advantages  to  be  expected  from 
annexation. 

The  efficacy  of  laws  which  are  formed  and  executed 
under  the  eye  of  public  vigilance,  and  the  advantage 
of  a  militia  which,  without  the  expense  of  an  army, 
prevents  disorders,  gives  to  slave  property  in  the 
United  States  a  security  unknown  in  Cuba,  as  easily 
seen  in  the  contracts,  and  purchases  of  landed  prop 
erty  in  both  countries,  which  is  a  true  basis  for  judg 
ing,  not  dependent  on  the  principles  or  prejudices  of  a 
writer. 

From  so  well  regulated  an  order  of  things  follow,  in 
a  slave  country,  the  care  of  the  mothers,  of  their  off 
spring,  and  of  the  sick ;  the  greater  amount  of  indi 
vidual  liberty  and  comforts  enjoyed  by  the  slaves,  and 
the  mutual  relations  of  confidence  and  affection  be 
tween  the  master  and  his  bondman,  which  have  thus 
far  disappeared  in  Cuba.  By  the  suppression  of  the 
African  slave  trade,  during  nearly  half  a  century,  the 
neighboring  republic  has  obtained  a  rare  exemption 
from  superstitious,  and  ungovernable,  and  ferocious 
habits  ;  and,  because  more  intelligent,  they  are  less 
disposed  to  Launch  in  insurrectionary  attempts,  which 
could,  in  the  end,  be  mere  vents  of  vengeance,  always 
subject  to  inevitable  and  certain  punishment. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  can  be  proved  that  it  is 
impossible  to  regenerate  and  prepare  the  slave  gradu 
ally  for  any  change  in  his  condition,  without  the  sup- 


232  APPENDIX. 

port  of  the  owners.  Abolitionism,  such  as  we  have 
seen,  making  war  on  property,  may  force  a  ruinous 
change,  availing  itself  of  the  lever  of  the  despotism  of  a 
metropolis  ;  hut  it  is  only  given  to  the  quiet,  undis 
turbed  authority  of  a  sovereign  state  to  produce  grad 
ual  reform  in  slavery,  without  compromising  the  exist 
ence  of  society.  If  this  course  appear  too  tardy  for 
the  impatience  of  the  negrophilism  of  Europe,  experi 
ence  ought  to  have  convinced  them  ere  this,  of  the 
obstacles  which  the  contrary  system  brings  to  the 
wealth,  peace,  and  morality  of  any  community.  As 
to  Cuba,  where  the  slave  population  is  chiefly  African, 
and  where  the  white  portion  is  not  permitted  to  be 
armed  and  formed  into  militia  for  their  defence,  gene 
ral  safety  is  consequently  insured  through  a  thousand 
privations  imposed  on  the  slaves  who,  as  it  has  already 
been  remarked,  are  not  favored  with  arfy  religious  or 
moral  instruction.  There  is  therefore  no  country 
worse  prepared  for  even  the  most  distant  announce 
ment  of  emancipation,  even  in  the  opinion  of  abolition 
ists. 

Free  trade,  which  is  another  of  the  elements  re 
quired  to  facilitate  greater  comforts  to  the  slave,  and 
method  and  implements  for  labor,  more  advantageous 
and  economical  to  enterprise,  thereby  rejecting  toilsome 
practices,  to  which  the  slave  is  subjected — how  can  free 
trade,  I  say,  be  established,  while  all  Spain,  and  Mr. 
Saco  himself,  are  bent  on  encouraging  Spanish  indus 
try  and  trade  by  means  of  the  commerce  of  Cuba,  viz., 
by  protective  duties,  and  by  enhanced  prices  1 

But  the  island  of  Cuba,  annexed  to  the  American 
Union,  might  adopt  a  course  of  decided  progress,  com 
bining  the  extension  of  her  agriculture  and  commerce, 
and  the  philanthropic  reforms  claimed  by  the  age,  with 
a  sacred  respect  to  property.  We  have  seen,  in  these 
latter  days,  the  official  press  of  Havana,  endeavoring  to 
sketch  a  dark  future  for  slavery  in  that  confederacy, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  excitement  created  by  the  ques- 


APPENDIX.  233 

tions  of  introducing  the  institution  in  the  territories 
recently  acquired.  Doubtless,  it  is  attempted  to  im 
press  on  the  Cuban  public  that  the  principle  of  non 
interference  in  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  several  states 
is  either  attacked  or  threatened  in  this  contest.  It  is 
therefore  proper  that  the  truth  should  be  known  as  to 
what  is  contended  for.  The  South,  or  the  slave-holding 
states,  hold  that  each  one  of  these  at  the  time  of 
forming  their  constitution  had  the  right  to  admit  or 
reject  the  principle  of  the  special  institution,  and  that 
the  General  Congress  cannot  anticipate,  guide,  or  oppose 
this  future  act  of  a  new  sovereign  state.  To  be  suffi 
ciently  courageous,  therefore,  to  raise  a  cry  against  the 
very  general  desire  of  limiting  slavery,  in  spite  of  the 
tendencies  of  the  times,  is  it  not  a  proof  of  the  vigor  of 
the  South,  and  of  the  fact  that  there  is  no  country  in 
the  world  where  slave  property  is  better  sheltered  from 
the  assaults  of  abolitionism  ?  That  which  has  been 
quoted  as  proof  of  the  dangerous  position  of  slavery,  is 
it  not  what  more  decidedly  proves  the  contrary  ?  Cru 
elty  and  mystery  (such  as  employed  by  the  Spanish 
administration)  are  the  weak  arms  of  the  pusillanimous 
— openness  and  energy,  fronting  our  enemies,  are  the 
characteristics  of  a  defence  inspired  by  intelligence  and 
conscious  power. 

In  order  to  appreciate  better  the  advantages  of  an 
nexation,  I  will  continue  to  avail  myself  of  the  example 
of  Louisiana.  The  primitive  constitution  of  this  state 
granted  at  once  to  the  inhabitants  of  it  the  important 
right  of  habeas  corpus,  the  judgment  by  jury  in  civil 
cases  at  the  request  of  either  of  the  parties,  the  privi 
lege  of  giving  bail  in  all  prosecutions  not  involving 
capital  punishment,  and  lastly,  the  judgment  by  jury 
in  all  criminal  cases. 

"  Twenty  years  of  good  government,"  said  the  dis 
tinguished  and  first  historian  of  Louisiana  in  1829, 
"  have  effected  what  could  not  have  been  accomplished 
in  centuries  under  the  previous  prohibitory  system. 


234  APPENDIX. 

General  and  local  interests  have  sprung  up,  and  ad 
vanced  rapidly.  The  population,  stationary,  under  an 
absolute  government,  has  been  trebled  after  the  cession. 
*  #  *  *  After  the  last  century,  the  Louisianians 
have  better  understood  the  wealth  of  the  soil  they 
possess.  *  *  *  New  Orleans,  founded  in  1707, 
after  dragging  a  languid  life  during  almost  a  century, 
by  possessing  a  liberal  system  for  twenty-five  years, 
has  already  become  one  of  the  most  flourishing  cities 
of  America.  The  great  facilities  in  her  intercourse 
with  Europe  have  reduced  the  price  of  all  merchandise 
which  the  colony  receives  from  thence,  and  pays  back 
in  her  crops  of  corn,  cotton,  and  sugar.* 

"  The  lands  of  the  interior,"  continues  Marbois, 
"  which  were  sold  at  the  lowest  rates  under  the  French 
and  Spanish  rule,  acquired  a  considerable  value  imme 
diately  after  the  cession.  Ancient  titles,  forgotten 
during  an  age,  were  searched  for  with  anxiety ;  and 
then  it  was  that  in  the  archives  of  the  French  colony  of 
Illinois,  the  descendants  of  Philip  Renaud,  found  the 
documents  of  the  large  donation  which  the  Mississippi 
Company  had  granted  to  their  ancestor." 

Such  is  the  vital  impulse  given  by  institutions,  that 
the  sugar  lands  of  Louisiana,  though  exposed  to  a  de 
structive  frost,  though  requiring  periodical  replanting, 
and  alternate  rest  and  manuring,  still  have  a  real 
value  in  the  market  superior  to  those  of  Cuba. 

The  Louisianians,  convinced  of  the  immense  advan 
tages  which  annexation  had  brought  to  them,  in  Febru 
ary,  1825,  expressed,  by  a  unanimous  resolution  of  the 
house  of  representatives,  "  their  veneration  toward  Mr. 
Monroe,  and  their  gratitude  for  the  part  he  had  taken 
in  the  acts  which  united  Louisiana  to  the  American 
confederacy." 

x  This  was  written  twenty  years  ago ;  what  could  be  said  now, 
when  the  Mississippi  river  brings  to  the  Louisianians  manufactures, 
grain,  dry  goods,  and  merchandise  of  all  kinds,  without  a  custom 
house,  or  any  other  intermediate  cost  than  a  moderate  freight  ? 


APPENDIX.  235 

In  the  essay  on  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
which  precedes  the  history  of  Louisiana,  already  so 
much  quoted,  the  author  alludes  to  the  formation  of 
new  settlements  in  the  deserts,  where  families,  assem 
bled  of  their  own  accord,  take  the  incipient  steps  in 
the  infancy  of  their  sovereignty.  "  They  name  their 
magistrates  by  themselves,"  he  says,  "  and  from  dis 
tricts  arid  afterward  from  territories  they  become  states. 
Until  they  acquire  sufficient  strength,  it  is  necessary 
that  Congress  should  guide  and  instruct  these  new  com 
munities  and  guard  them  against  their  own  errors  ;  and 
as  this  authority  is  exercised  solely  for  their  good,  it 
is  very  seldom  that  it  meets  with  any  obstacle.  The 
new  states  which  are  formed  exist  by  themselves,  and 
for  themselves. 

This  independence  and  sovereign  authority  of  the 
state  is  what  Mr.  Saco  gives  no  indication  of  appreci 
ating.  Rarely  is  it  that  a  stranger  who  has  not  ob 
served  closely  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  American 
system,  gives  full  value  to  the  federal  principle  on  which 
it  rests,  and  which,  while  it  unites  all  the  states  for  de 
termined  objects,  few  in  their  number,  and  carefully 
explained  in  their  nature,  leaves  untouched  the  equal 
and  independent  sovereignty  which  belongs  to  each,  as 
also  the  absolute  power  to  govern  itself  in  all  matters 
of  internal  administration  and  government,  without  in 
terference  on  the  part  of  another  state,  or  even  of  the 
federal  government.  As  a  member  in  every  respect 
equal  to  the  rest  in  sovereign  authority  and  independ 
ence,  Cuba,  admitted  into  the  confederacy,  would  at  once 
take  the  rank  which  belongs  to  her  in  the  political 
world,  on  account  of  her  geographical  and  natural  ad 
vantages.  From  an  humble  and  oppressed  colony, 
trampled  upon  by  oriental  despotism,  she  would  rise  to 
be,  like  her  sister  republics,  a  nation  within  a  nation, 
and  for  the  first  time  would  Cuban  nationality,  essen 
tially  Spanish  in  character,  have  an  existence ;  while 
she  would  unceasingly  draw  to  herself,  as  we  have  al- 


236  APPENDIX. 

ready  intimated,  the  best  class  of  Spanish  emigrants, 
both  from  the  metropolis,  and  the  great  Spanish  family 
elsewhere.  Giving  to  this  principle  of  state  independ 
ence,  strictly  adhered  to  in  the  United  States,  its  true 
importance,  could  not  Mr.  Saco  find,  in  annexation,  the 
sure  course  to  inspire  life,  activity,  and  character  of  its 
own,  to  the  Cuban  society? 

I  believe  I  have  demonstrated  that  love  toward  our 
ancestors  can  be  preserved,  and,  in  fact,  better  pre 
served,  purer  and  more  noble,  where  it  does  not  call 
for  the  sacrifice  of  our  well-being ;  and  also  with  the 
precedent  of  Louisiana,  that  there  is  no  ground  to  fear 
annihilation  of  Spanish  influence,  by  the  Americans, 
through  annexation.  From  what  has  been  said,  it  is 
also  definitively  established  that,  as  a  European  depend 
ence,  Cuba  can  hope  for  neither  quiet  nor  progress  ; 
and  lastly,  that  both  can  be  reached  by  entering  in  the 
neighboring  confederacy. 

If  the  sketch  herein  traced  of  the  posture  of  things 
be  true,  if  the  dangers  surrounding  Cuba  are  to  cease 
with  annexation  to  the  United  States,  does  Mr.  Saco 
suppose  that  the  European  residents  on  the  island  will 
wait  till  it  be  too  late  to  save  her  ?  They  have  given 
proofs  of  comprehending  the  danger  on  several  occa 
sions,  one  of  them  very  recent.*  It  is  true  that  late 
events  in  Europe,  comparatively  of  a  peaceful  tenden 
cy,  have  served  the  views  of  our  rulers,  who  take  ad 
vantage  of  the  love  of  their  country  to  keep  the  old 
Spaniards  in  uncertainty  and  anxious  wavering.  But 
pictures  of  security,  oftentimes  confidently  drawn,  to 
be  as  often  suddenly  effaced,  have  excited  misgivings 
and  doubts,  which  are  deeply  rooted  in  the  minds  of 
the  former.  The  industrious  majority  of  them,  which 
is  not  made  up  of  the  few  who  are  conspicuously  seen 

*  In  1841,  when  the  agreement  was  proposed  by  the  British  cabi 
net  to  free  the  slaves ;  later  still,  on  the  intended  sale  of  the  islund 
by  a  progressive  cabinet ;  and  lastly,  at  the  time  of  the  emancipation 
of  the  slaves  in  the  French  colonies. 


APPENDIX.  237 

surrounding  the  authorities,  is  identified  in  their  inter 
est  with  the  Creoles.  Both  parties  are  aware  of  their 
relative  position,  without  daring  to  breathe  the  truth  ; 
they  foreshadow  the  bond  which  is  to  bind  them  to 
gether  in  the  future.  A  day  does  not  pass  by  without 
thoughts  flashing  through  the  minds  of  the  sensible 
portion  of  either  band,  as  to  the  necessity  of  being 
united,  and  placing  themselves  under  shelter  against  all 
vicissitudes,  by  becoming  annexed  to  the  American 
confederacy.  Perhaps  love  of  free  institutions  has  a 
deeper  hold  in  the  heart  of  the  Spanish  European ;  per 
haps  a  prejudice,  a  bare,  frail  Avail  is  now  separating 
their  common  interest  and  inclinations. 

But  when  the  rulers  of  a  land  have  no  other  reliance 
for  support  than  what  is  founded  on  error,  their  posi 
tion  is  a  false  one.  When  the  only  thing  wanted  for  a 
whole  people  to  take  a  determination  is  the  propitious 
opportunity,  this  soon  presents  ;  and  what  is  in  the 
minds  of  all,  soon  finds  vent  from  thought  to  words  and 
from  words  to  action.  The  European  Spaniards  re 
siding  in  Cuba  know,  just  as  well  as  the  writer  of  these 
lines,  that  the  sway  of  a  distant  metropolis  is  incom 
patible  with  the  free-trade  principle  and  the  well-being 
of  the  citizens  ;  that  it  must  soon  meet  its  terminus  ; 
and  that  the  advocates  of  despotism  and  monarchy  are 
daily  losing  their  number  and  enthusiasm.  They  know 
that  when  free  trade  is  established,  if  their  commercial 
privileges  come  to  an  end,  the  sailor  monopoly  and 
other  restrictive  laws  will  also  cease,  and  the  ship 
owner  will  be  the  gainer,  being  enabled  thereby  to  man 
his  vessels  with  greater  economy  ;  and  the  crews  them 
selves  will  be  exempted  from  forced  services  to  the 
crown.*  They  know  that  with  this  and  similar  advan- 

*  England  has  likewise  been  obliged  to  disregard  the  clamor  of  her 
ship-owners — elevating  by  such  means  her  mercantile  marine  in  pro 
portion  as  she  took  away  privileges.  "  Protection,"  said  her  prime 
minister,  "  is  the  scourge  of  agriculture."  We  know  that  protection 
was  the  scourge  of  the  manufactures  of  Spitalfields ;  that  it  ruined 


238  APPENDIX. 

tages  of  liberty,  and  their  previous  connection  with  the 
population,  the  mercantile  class  now  settled  on  the 
island  will  flourish  more  than  under  the  protection  and 
restrictions  of  the  present  legislation.  These  restric 
tions,  and  not  the  want  of  activity  and  natural  skill,  as 
Mr.  Saco  thinks,  are  the  cause  of  the  backwardness 
of  Spanish  industry  and  commerce.  What  is  wanting 
to  those  laborious  and  prudent  men  who,  from  Navarre, 
from  Catalonia,  from  Arragon,  from  Galicia,  from 
Andalusia,  and  from  the  whole  of  Spain,  have  come  to 
this  island,  for  their  own  advantage  and  that  of  their 
adopted  country  ?  What  is  wanting  in  them  in  order 
to  extend  and  raise  their  commerce  on  •  a  level  with 
those  who,  with  less  toil,  prosper  on  the  borders  of  the 
Mississippi?  What  else  than  the  political  influence 
within  the  reach  of  the  obscurest  individual  in  the 
neighboring  republic  ?  What  but  to  feel  the  worth  of 

our  sugar  colonies,  and  has  given  to  Ireland  misery  in  lieu  of  pros 
perity.  In  a  word,  protection  has  been  the  destruction  of  objects 
to  which  it  has  been  granted.  Like  a  tree,  it  shelters  from  the  tem 
pest  those  whom  it  protects,  but  brings  down  on  their  heads  the 
thunder  of  heaven.  And  why  should  our  mercantile  navy  be  the 
exception  to  this  universal  law?  Competition  is  the  soul  of  skill. 
Those  who  never  bear  it  are  lazy  and  wanting  in  energy.  They  can 
neither  avail  of  the  example  nor  gain  by  the  knowledge  of  others. 
To  liberate  men  from  competition,  is  to  nail  them  on  the  ignorance 
of  their  fathers ;  to  subject  them  to  it,  is  to  place  their  capacity  to  the 
test — it  is  to  breathe  into  them  energy  and  life,  and  to  inspire  them 
with  ability.  This  should  be  equally  applied  to  captains  and  saiiors, 
and  to  ship-owners  and  other  individuals.  During  the  last  seven 
years — which  terminated  in  1823 — while  the  English  navigation  laws 
were  in  full  vigor,  the  increase  of  the  shipping  amounted  to  five  per 
cent.  Then  commenced  a  period  of  greater  freedom  ;  and  the  year 
1842  shows  an  enormous  increase,  with  this  peculiar  circumstance, 
that  the  shipping  employed  in  the  colonial  trade,  still  enjoyfng  pro 
tection,  only  augmented  67  per  cent.,  while  that  engaged  in  foreign 
trade,  under  the  reciprocity  act,  rose  to  164  per  cent. 

1823.  1842.  Increase. 

Tonnage  employed  in  commerce 

with  British  possessions       -     -  746,822     1,250,937       67  p.  ct. 
Tonnage  employed  in  commerce 

with  foreign  neutral  countries     802,686     2,124,333     164     " 

[Economist,  Nov.  27,  1847. 


APPENDIX.  239 

man  and  the  respect  due  to  every  individual  not  actually 
convicted  of  some  crime,  even  by  the  supreme  head  of 
the  state.  That  democracy,  independent  and  jealous 
of  its  own  dignit}7,  which  the  Biscayans  practically 
possess,  which  the  Arragonese  hold  consigned  in  their 
ancient  laws,  and  which  the  Catalonians  and  Valen- 
cians  carry  stamped  in  their  faces  ;  that  democracy,  the 
key  to  all  the  blessings  of  a  nation,  the  path  of  which 
is  quiet  in  America,  because  unobstructed  by  monarch 
ical  and  retrograde  ambitions — that  is  the  ark  of  sal 
vation  for  Cuba,  and  the  bond  of  union  for  its  inhabit 
ants.  Whenever  it  shall  spring  up  and  be  understood 
there,  the  eloquent  orators  who  shall  better  sustain  its 
rights  and  immunities,  will  awaken  the  noble  enthusi 
asm  and  the  applause  which  is  now  only  bestowed  on  a 
StefFanoni  and  a  Maririi.  How  far  more  elevated  will 
the  place  occupied  by  the  Cubans  then  be  among  civil 
ized  countries  ! 

Had  Mr.  Saco,  when  discussing  the  dispositions  of 
the  peninsular  Spaniards,  taken  into  account  the 
annexation  symptoms  manifested  by  them  on  the  dif 
ferent  occasions  to  which  I  have  alluded,  his  opinion 
might  command  greater  credit ;  as  it  has  reached  us 
now,  it  too  forcibly  tells  how  long  he  has  been  away, 
and  even  now  how  distant  from  his  country. 

The  manifest  conformity,  however,  existing  between 
the  material  interest  and  secret  opinions  of  the  several 
parties  in  Cuba,  temporarily  smothered  though  it  may 
be,  based  as  it  is  on  the  undeviating  and  victorious 
progress  of  democracy  in  America,  convinces  me  that 
to  obtain  annexation  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  resort 
to  arms. 

Peaceful  in  their  habits,  the  Europeans,  like  the 
Creoles,  will  not  launch  into  a  fratricidal  war,  injuri 
ous  to  their  prosperity,  solely  to  serve  the  class  of  offi 
cials  or  the  prejudices  of  commercial  monopoly.  An 
order  of  things  only  supported  through  injustice  and 
an  armed  force,  is  naturally  on  the  eve  of  overthrow. 


240  APPENDIX. 

Good  sense  and  the  intercourse  with  our  neighbors 
are  doing  wonders  in  the  work  of  gaining  partisans  to 
pacific  annexation,  notwithstanding  the  ridiculous  re 
strictions  put  to  the  press,  and  to  individual  liberty 
and  action.  There  is  no  excess  of  credulity,  there 
fore,  in  imagining  that  the  Europeans,  belonging  to 
the  industrious  classes,  will,  on  the  first  favorable  op 
portunity,  advocate  what  is  their  interest  in  com 
mon  with  all.  The  desire  after  freedom,  impossible 
to  satisfy  white  military  despotism,  exists  ;  and  a  hope 
to  give  security  to  slave  property,  and  to  dispel,  with 
one  blow,  the  dangers  attending  on  the  actual,  forced 
dependence,  have  influenced  the  minds  of  the  peninsu 
lar  Spaniards,  and  if  the  portion  who  speculate  in 
offices,  and  office-holders,  were  not  among  them,  they 
would  have  consummated  the  act  of  annexation  them 
selves  ere  now. 

As  to  the  feeling  among  Creoles,  Mr.  Saco  is  sadly 
informed ;  perhaps  it  is  in  the  territory  where  he  ima 
gines  annexationist  views  to  be  less  advanced,  that 
they  are  more  extended.  We  cannot  say  now-a-days, 
that  there,  is  a  political  conspiracy  in  Cuba ;  what  is 
to  be  met  with  is  one  common  and  universal  idea. 
Some  are  ready  to  shed  their  blood  for  the  banner 
which  is  to  elevate  them  to  the  rank  of  men ;  some 
appreciate  its  advantages,  and  fear  and  hope  to  obtain 
the  same  results  by  convictions  and  treaties.  Some, 
ill  at  ease  with  the  law  that  might  put  a  stop  to  the 
abuses  on  which  they  live,  would  oppose  its  course ; 
but  public  sentiment  advances  daily,  and  all  divine  by 
an  instinct,  true  messenger  of  the  age,*  and  feel  that 
the  colossus  of  America  is  coming  toward  us,  diffusing 
wealth  and  happiness  in  its  path.  It  has  been  even 
asserted  by  a  Spaniard,  that  the  important  act  of  an 
nexation  would  have  already  taken  place  had  it  not 
been  for  the  want  of  energy  on  the  part  of  the  Creoles. 

*  Mr.  Saco  had  called  himself  the  messenger  of  the  asje. 


APPENDIX.  241 

But  Mr.  Saco  would  prefer  that  Cuba  were  first 
independent.  Would  he  not  dread  to  launch  her  in 
all  the  attempts  at  self-government  which  have  been 
the  constant  reef  of  destruction  to  the  Spanish  family  1 
Does  not  the  picture  of  Spanish  America,  torn  asunder 
by  intestine  dissensions,  inspire  him  with  sorrowful 
forebodings  ?  Or  would  he  deny  the  protecting  shield 
which  the  government  of  the  Union  would  lend  to  an 
incipient  republic  1 

Informing  Mr.  Saco  that  even  free-soil  journals  have 
shown  themselves  not  averse  to  the  acquisition  of  Cu 
ba,  and  reminding  him  of  occasional  proofs  given  in 
the  senate  of  a  favorable  disposition  toward  the  same 
object,  I  sufficiently  establish,  I  think,  how  strangely 
erroneous  his  information  is  regarding  the  opinions  of 
the  political  parties  in  the  United  States.  The  north 
ern  states  in  defence  of  their  manufactures  and  provi 
sions,  the  eastern  states  of  their  shipping  and  lumber 
trade,  the  west  of  their  grain  and  growing  manufac 
tures,  and  the  south  from  the  communion  of  slave  in 
terest,  have  but  one  voice — they  all  feel  the  want  of 
Cuba.  Polk,  attempting  negotiations  at  once,  Cass, 
the  candidate  of  the  south,  and  Taylor,  the  President 
elect,  are  equally  the  servants  of  the  popular  will ;  and 
with  regard  to  the  latter's  views,  Mr.  Saco  must  have 
heard,  erenow,  what  was  expressed  in  the  senate  on 
the  subject,  something  like  two  months  ago  (written  in 
December,  1847).  It  is  but  too  well  known  that  the 
annexation  of  Cuba  is  held  as  a  national  object,  which 
cannot  be  made  to  serve  as  the  banner  of  any  one  par 
ty.  The  masses  who  wish  for  it  there,  and  who  tol 
erate  with  displeasure  the  individual  oppression  suffered 
at  the  very  threshold  of  the  soil  of  freedom,  do  not, 
perhaps,  busy  themselves  with  the  means  of  acquiring 
Cuba ;  but  the  states  where  slavery  exists,  aware  of 
the  political  importance  it  has  for  them,  do  not  slum 
ber,  and  their  prudence,  their  wise  measures,  and  their 
enthusiasm  in  the  cause,  are  sure  guaranties  that  the 


242  APPENDIX. 

annexation  will  take  place  at  an  early  date.  The 
pearl  of  the  West  Indies,  with  her  thirteen  or  fifteen 
representatives  in  Congress,  would  be  a  powerful  aux 
iliary  to  the  South,  and  her  value  as  an  immense  out 
let  for  American  manufactures,  and  a  source  of  vast 
tropical  productions  in  exchange,  and  also  as  a  military 
post,  would  surely  make  the  attainment  of  Cuba  a  bond 
of  peace  and  union  for  all  the  states.  With  regard  to 
ourselves,  who  can  doubt  that  it  will  be  a  course  cal 
culated  to  develop  the  fountains  of  wealth,  and  at  once 
dispel  the  clouds  hovering  on  our  future. 

Now,  then,  the  physical  and  moral  wants  of  man 
kind  must  be  granted,  particularly  in  America,  where 
democracy  prevails,  and  obstacles  arising  from  rights 
of  conquest  or  possession,  are  settled  by  compacts 
at  the  risk  of  penalties  or  outbreaks  more  harm 
ful  to  the  parties  opposing.  If  citizens  can  be  op 
pressed  under  a  tyrannical  administration,  when  brutal 
force  supports  it,  democracy  may  likewise  use  its  might 
and  strength  to  take  off  the  irons  from  the  victims  of 
despotism.  The  power  of  the  American  confederacy 
lies  in  the  number  of  resolute  freemen  who  cover  the 
surface  of  their  territory — in  the  fact  that  their  indus 
try  does  not  bear  heavy  taxation  to  pay  debts  con 
tracted  by  preceding  generations,  nor  to  support  me 
nials,  office-holders,  or  princes,  useless  to  the  land  ;  or 
armies,  only  necessary  to  perpetuate  wrong.  More 
even  than  all  this,  does  their  power  spring,  especially 
in  foreign  countries,  from  the  certainty  that  the  cause 
of  the  Americans  is  the  cause  of  individual  liberty. 
Who,  even  though  only  partially  enlightened,  does  not 
love  this  cause  ?  What  soldier,  forcibly  drawn  from 
his  country  and  home,  would  oppose  an  enemy  in 
whose  victory  he  sees  his  own  and  mankind's  freedom  1 
What  parent,  on  leaving  this  world,  would  not  prefer 
that  his  children,  and  the  inheritance  he  bequeaths  to 
them,  remain  under  the  guardianship  of  the  laws  of 
the  Union  ? 


APPENDIX.  243 

If  Texas  had  the  advantage  that  her  population  con 
sisted  chiefly  of  American  citizens,  it  had  to  beat 
against  marked  opposition,  instead  of  the  unanimous 
voice  with  which  Cuba  will  be  hailed  by  all  the  states 
and  parties.  The  former  had  not  the  outlets  and 
markets  which  the  latter  can  offer,  and  when  her  cry 
of  annexation  sounded,  France  and  Spain,  still  under 
dynastic  influences,  dared  yet,  the  one  to  awe  with  her 
fleets,  the  other  to  concert  pitiful  combinations  or  ex 
peditions  for  the  restoration  of  monarchy  in  America ; 
while  England  intrigued,  and  did  every  thing  but 
launch  into  war,  to  prevent  the  annexation.  What 
will  France  undertake,  henceforth  governed,  as  she  is, 
by  the  law  of  popular  majority,  against  American  re 
publicanism  ? 

Without  entering  into  a  detailed  examination  of  the 
aid  which  Cuban  annexation  may  receive  from  the 
United  States,  it  suffices  my  purpose  to  set  down — 

1.  That  there  is  not,  in  Cuba,  the  faith  and  deter 
mined  will  in  favor  of  the  statu  quo,  which  Mr.  Saco 
attributes  to  a  part  of  the  population. 

2.  That  we  would  not  consider  any  moral  aid  as 
such,  coming  from  our  republican  neighbors,  were  it 
not  based  on  the  determination  of  the  masses  to  make 
it  real  and  effective. 

3.  That   precisely  when   American  democracy  has 
given  more  proofs  of  energy,  Mr.  Saco's  attempt  to 
excite  mistrust  in  the  promises  even  of  the  President, 
were  there  any  such,  seems  singular  and  unaccounta 
ble. 

4.  That  so  far  from  demanding  twenty -five  or  thirty 
thousand  men*  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
were  it  a  question  of  begging  in  such  quarters,  I  would 
ask  for  fertile  lands  in  abundance,  situated  no  matter 
where,  in  order  to  give    profitable   occupation  to  the 
individuals  of  the  Spanish  army,  who,  instead  of  offer- 

*  Mr.  Saco's  ingenious  system  of  annexation. 


2i4  \PPENDIX. 

ing  support  to  the  government,  as  Mr.  Saco  supposes, 
are  actually  suffering  the  penalty  of  military  service 
which  the  queen's  party  imposes  on  the  prisoners  in 
the  civil  war ;  and  as  the  discontent  is  shown  among 
them  by  simultaneous  desertions  and  executions  be 
yond  what  had  ever  before  been  noticed,  Mr.  Saco's 
remark  that  Spain  has  a  respectable  army,  faithful 
under  any  circumstances,  may  very  possibly  be  taken 
as  ironical. 

Whenever  Mr.  Saco  shall  appreciate,  in  its  proper 
worth,  the  omnipotence,  in  this  hemisphere,  of  the 
Great  People,  he  will  understand  why  it  is  that  I  rely 
upon  them  to  watch  and  prevent  attempts  calculated 
to  revolutionize  the  slaves.  English  interference  in 
opposition  to  the  United  States,  is  a  dream.  A  nation 
living  on  credit,  whose  masses  are  deprived  of  labor  at 
the  slightest  threat  of  war,  and  whose  capital  and  com 
mercial  business  are  so  interwoven  and  confounded 
with  those  of  the  American  people,  cannot  run  the  risk 
of  even  a  temporary  suspension  of  friendly  relations 
with  them.  The  denouements  of  the  questions  of  the 
northeastern  boundary — of  Oregon — of  Texas — and  of 
the  Mexican  war,  in  all  of  which  the  republic  gave  the 
law,  are  the  practical  demonstration  of  this  peculiar 
situation.  England,  even  before  the  show  of  power 
and  military  skill  exhibited  in  the  Mexican  war,  had 
reconciled  herself  to  the  unlimited  aggrandizement  of 
the  United  States.  On  the  other  hand,  the  considera 
ble  consumption  of  English  manufactures  in  Cuba,  can 
but  increase  under  the  more  liberal  regulations  of  the 
federal  government.  Peace  and  markets  for  her  man 
ufactures  are  matters  of  life  and  death  for  England ; 
the  minister,  tory  or  whig,  who  forgets  these  truths, 
would  bitterly  weep  his  error;  because  the  mind  of 
man  is  not  able  to  compass  the  disasters  which  a  war, 
especially  with  her  ancient  colony,  would  bring  upon 
herself  and  the  commerce  of  the  civilized  world.  How 
can  we  then  read,  without  wonder,  the  picture  drawn 


APPENDIX.  215 

by  Mr.  Saco,  of  England,  intriguing  to  indispose  and 
injure,  involving  in  servile  and  sanguinary  insurrection 
the  nation  whose  peaceful  relations  are  her  first  ele 
ment  of  existence.  The  American  people  are  too 
strong,  their  policy  too  open,  their  mission  too  noble 
for  England  to  cause  them,  indirectly,  the  least  harm, 
without  suffering  the  consequences  of  her  treason. 
And  such  is  the  respect  which  manufacturing  and  com 
mercial  wants  have  created  for  the  United  States, 
among  the  English,  that  Cuba  will  obtain  the  surest 
guaranty  of  the  pacific  views  of  Great  Britain,  when 
soever  the  American  cabinet  shall  openly  enter  into 
negotiations  for  her  annexation  as  a  new  state.  While 
this  is  not  done,  the  crater  wiiich,  owing  to  that  king 
dom  or  its  American  colonies,  Mr.  Saco  noticed  under 
our  feet  fifteen  years  ago,  and  which  has  suddenly  dis 
appeared  to  his  sight,  remains  more  dangerous  than 
ever,  for  we  have  the  misfortune  not  to  ground  hopes 
or  faith  in  the  cabinet  of  Madrid,  or  their  agents,  who, 
to  judge  from  the  men  who  have  come  in  power  to 
the  island  for  many  past  years,  will  always  be  at  the 
disposal  of  cabal  and  bribery.  From  the  thoughtless  or 
perfidious  conduct  of  the  Spanish  ministers,  who  have 
tolerated  the  African  slave  trade,  notwithstanding  the 
danger  it  brings  on  Cuba,  Saco  infers  that  their  suc 
cessors  in  office,  whatever  party  they  may  belong  to, 
will  have  the  wisdom  to  resist  all  advice  or  inducement, 
political  or  personal,  calculated  to  emancipate  the 
slaves  in  the  Spanish  West  Indies.  Surely,  the  ad 
ministration  has  given  proofs  of  being  very  system 
atical  and  consistent,  for  us  to  trust  to  the  natural 
separation  which  ought  to  exist  between  the  suppres 
sion  of  the  slave  trade  and  the  emancipation  of  the 
slaves,  as  to  a  barrier,  not  to  be  leaped  over  by  cor 
ruption,  fanaticism,  or  incapacity.  Did  we  see  any 
signs  that  the  local  government,  in  Cuba,  understood 
the  true  position  of  the  country,  and  the  changes  that 
have  been  operated  in  what  surrounds  them,  it  would 


2 '6  APPENDIX. 

be  some  excuse  for  the  confiding  assertions  which  are 
in  Mr.  Saco's  lips,  both  novel  and  contrary  to  his 
usually  irresistible  logic. 

I  will  repeat  once  and  again  that  so  far  from  con 
sidering  with  this  gentleman,  that  the  demand  of  Cuba 
by  the  cabinet  of  Washington  will  induce  the  court  of 
St.  James  to  set  at  work  sinister  measures,  1  believe 
it  to  be  the  most  efficient  means  of  disarming  the  latter, 
who  will  always  submit  every  other  consideration  to 
England's  first  essential  wants  of  peace  and  markets. 

Yes,  without  any  hesitation  we  must  assert,  that  to 
save  slavery  from  a  bloody  crisis,  and  give  to  the  insti 
tution  the  security  which  it  should  possess,  as  property, 
and  which  is  not  only  compatible,  but  indispensable  to 
its  available  reform,  there  is  no  other  road  than  annex 
ation. 

"  Spain  dreams  not,"  says  our  absent  countryman, 
"  of  emancipating  the  slaves."  Let  us  lay  quietly  to 
rest  on  this  assurance.  But  on  what  is  it  based? 
Has  she  not  v  ithheld  this  assurance,  that  our  anxiety 
might  awe  us,  hanging  over  our  heads  like  the  sword 
of  Damocles  1  On  what  circumstances  is  so  important 
a  key  to  the  wealth  of  the  island  made  to  depend? 
May  not  the  mere  signature  of  a  secretary  of  state,  in 
an  evil  hour,  rob  the  Cubans  of  their  wealth,  the  com 
mercial  world  of  a  market,  and  the  Spanish  family  of  a 
country  ?  That  Mr.  Saco  should  be  the  one  to  qualify, 
as  imaginary,  the  fear  of  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves, 
after  the  recent  attack  on  the  institution  in  other  Eu 
ropean  colonies,  is  a  matter  of  wonder  ;  that  he  should 
think  a  war  possible  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States,  evinces  how  little  he  has  given  his  at 
tention  to  the  events  herein  noticed,  and. to  the  con 
ciliatory  policy  of  the  latter  government,  or  else  that 
he  sees  every  thing  with  the  eyes  of  an  abolitionist. 

It  would  seem  as  if  the  ancient  editor  of  the  Cuban 
Review,  precisely  in  the  manner  in  which  he  appears 
unacquainted  with  the  present  backward  political  con- 


APPENDIX.  247 

dition  of  the  island,  as  contrasted  with  the  remote 
period  when  the  press  was  permitted  to  publish  his 
writings,  is  equally  unconscious  of  the  influence  and 
mighty  power  which  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United 
States  have  acquired  in  this  hemisphere — particularly 
on  these  seas,  in  sight,  if  I  may  be  allowed  so  to  speak, 
of  their  navy  yard.  In  speaking  of  open  war  between 
England  and  the  American  Union,  he  says,  u  England, 
commanding  the  seas  with  her  formidable  fleets,  will 
blockade  our  ports,  will  prevent  the  aid  which  we 
might  expect  from  the  confederacy ;  our  produce  would 
then  not  be  exported,  arid  as  the  climax  to  our  mis 
fortune,  she  would  throw  upon  our  coast  an  army  of 
negroes." 

Is  not  this  a  picture  drawn  to  the  taste  of  the  painter  1 
Are  the  results  of  the  last  wrar  between  those  countries, 
and  England's  anxiety  to  terminate  it,  forgotten?  Is 
no  account  to  be  taken  of  the  subsequently  acquired 
greatness  of  the  American  people  1  And  with  regard 
to  the  suggestion  of  employing  negroes  in  the  contest, 
the  stain  stamped  on  the  British  character,  according 
to  the  powerful  expression  of  Lord  Chatham,  by  the 
enlistment  of  savages  against  their  brothers,  will  not 
again  be  exhibited  on  the  part  of  that  great  nation,  who, 
after  more  than  a  half  century  of  progress,  is  a  model 
at  this  present  day  of  whatsoever  is  noble  and  philan 
thropic. 

It  has  been  asserted  before  now,  that  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  family,  divided  as  it  now  is  into  two  great  por 
tions  of  American  and  English,  from  their  own  supe 
riority  and  activity,  are  destined  at  some  future  day  to 
come  into  conflict  with  one  another  in  a  most  destruc 
tive  manner ;  but  experience,  which  often  brings  to  no 
thing  human  foresight,  is  exhibiting  on  the  contrary  so 
many  indications  of  the  peaceful  tendency  of  modern 
civilization,  and  particularly  of  those  two  nations,  that 
I  am  really  shocked  at  finding  Mr.  Saco  anticipating 
hatred  an^d  war  between  them.  At  any  rate,  the  care 


248  APPENDIX. 

with  which  every  subject  of  disagreement  has  been  ar 
ranged  among  them  during  the  past  ten  years,  is  an 
evidence  that,  at  least  during  our  generation,  no  change 
will  take  place  in  the  harmony  heretofore  preserved 
for  the  weal  of  mankind. 

Before  closing  this  hurried,  ill-concerted,  and  in 
complete  refutation,  I  must  request  the  former  advo 
cate  of  Cuban  rights  to  tell  us,  where  lies  the  limit 
which  should  be  marked  to  the  forbearance  and  quiet 
submission  to  political  degradation  of  his  countrymen. 
I  look  around  to  the  people  of  various  countries,  and  I 
see  none  where,  with  so  many  interests,  industry,  and 
trade  at  stake,  capital  is  so  utterly  without  influence, 
direct  or  indirect,  in  the  administration ;  I  see  that 
while  despotism  and  its  encroachments  are  disappearing 
elsewhere,  we  are  pressed  down  with  more  tenacious 
grasp  ;  I  see  the  Creoles  put  aside,  oppressed,  vexed, 
and  personally  and  shamefully  trampled  upon  as  they 
never  were  before. 

One  only  blessing — one  onty,  but  radiant,  like  the 
sun  of  Cuba — has  come  out  of  so  much  oppression  and 
contempt :  the  consciousness  of  our  dignity  and  self- 
respect.  The  Cubans  have  at  least  learned  to  suffer 
in  silence,  and  to  despise  the  tyrants  who  place  them 
selves  in  the  path  of  their  rights.  Spain  will  not  find 
again  the  majority  of  the  Cubans  prostrated  in  an  in 
gratiating  attitude  before  their  oppressors.  If  the 
rulers  have  the  aid  of  an  army  of  demoralized  and 
constrained  soldiers,  the  citizens  may  rely  on  the  justice 
of  their  cause,  on  the  moral  support  of  the  age,  and  on 
the  democracy  of  the  American  Union.  If  the  former 
are  encouraged  by  the  forebodings  of  an  enlightened 
Cuban  (Mr.  Saco),  the  latter  confide  in  the  prophecy 
of  a  far-famed  Spaniard,  which  is  even  now  being  ful 
filled.  "  This  federal  republic,"  said  the  Count  de 
Aranda,  in  his  secret  memoir  of  1783,  "  is  a  pigmy  at 
its  cradle,  if  I  am  allowed  so  to  speak  ;  she  has  needed 
the  support  of  two  states  powerful  like  France  and 


APPENDIX.  249 

Spain  to  obtain  her  independence.  The  day  will  come 
when  she  will  be  a  giant — a  formidable  colossus  even 
in  these  parts.  She  will  forget  the  services  received 
from  those  countries,  and  will  only  think  of  her  own 
aggrandizement.  Freedom  of  conscience,  facility  in 
settling  new  emigration  in  vast  territories,  jointly  with 
the  advantage  of  a  new  government  (he  meant  free)  will 
draw  to  her  the  artisans  and  laborers  of  all  nations, 
because  men  go  after  fortune  ;  and  in  a  few  years  we 
shall  see  the  tyranny  of  this  same  colossus  of  which  I 


It  was  ever  the  prerogative  of  minds  of  a  high  order 
to  anticipate  great  events.  Thus  the  Count  de  Aranda 
while  judiciously  estimating  freedom  of  conscience  and 
popular  institutions  in  the  United  States,  as  causes  for 
the  future  growth  and  annexation  of  neighboring  states, 
and  Chatham  while  recommending  in  the  British  parlia 
ment,  notwithstanding  the  scant  population  of  the  in 
cipient  republic,  that  British  power  should  not  be 
enforced  to  oppose  her — both  acknowledged  that  moral 
influence  superior  to  all  other  influences  in  this  age, 
which  Mr.  Saco  appears  not  to  understand. 

Would  to  God  that  this  distinguished  Cuban — disre 
garding  the  whisperings  of  his  self-love,  which  may 
give  bitter  fruits  to  his  country,  should  it  keep  him  in 
the  course  he  has  chosen — would  not  battle  against  the 
march  of  the  times,  nor  disavow  the  true  progress 
which  is  being  extended  to  the  human  race  under  the 
propitious  flag  of  American  Republicanism. 

The  United  States  increase  in  wealth,  civilization, 
industry,  and  power,  in  a  manner  unknown  in  the 
annals  of  the  world.  Their  population  doubles  every 
twenty-five  years  ;  and  a  progression  so  stupendous 
foils  human  calculation  as  to  what  will  be  their  power 
and  influence  in  times  to  come  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  What  monarchy,  what  empire,  what  con 
federacy  or  league,  can  so  much  as  raise  their  eyes  to 
measure  such  boundless  power  ?  What  arm  is  strength- 
11* 


250  APPENDIX. 

ening,  and  where,  to  subdue  at  some  future  day  this 
proud  and  living  expression  of  political  and  industrial 
freedom  !  Twenty  millions  of  souls  now,  forty  in  1873, 
and  so  successively  on,  till  we  come  to  320,000,000  in 
one  century.  Make  to  this  estimate,  founded  on  the 
past  experience,  what  reasonable  deductions  you  please, 
arid  what  splendid  results  may  we  not  expect  yet  ? 
Those  are  now  in  existence  who  will  see  this  vast  con 
federacy  holding  a  population  of  200,000,000  !  Where 
is  the  model,  the  precedent,  the  resemblance  to  this 
great  spectacle,  in  the  history  of  all  the  nations  of  the 
world  ? 

In  the  presence  of  a  standing  reality  like  this,  which 
strikes  our  eyes,  which  our  hands  touch,  and  which  fills 
our  hearts  with  raptures,  because  it  is  the  triumph  of 
humanity,  how  little  must  the  reasonings,  the  views, 
the  trivial  and  pompous  declamations  of  the  subdued 
press  of  Havana  appear  !  Shall  the  great  Mississippi, 
after  mingling  with  its  own  the  waters  of  the  Missouri, 
the  Ohio,  and  thousand  other  tributary  streams — after 
impelling  onward  along  its  margin  in  majestic  course, 
productions  of  all  kinds,  wealth,  commerce,  and  popu 
lation,  so  many  signs  of  the  mighty  approach  of  a  new, 
great,  and  enterprising  civilization — shall  the  Missis 
sippi,  I  say,  while  expanding  its  waters  in  the  wide 
gulf,  announce  to  the  democracy  of  the  world  that  the 
advantages  and  the  glory  of  the  American  institutions 
will  not  pass  forward — that  the  Queen  of  the  Antilles, 
fertile,  and  great,  and  capable  of  presenting  similar 
development  of  productions  and  well-being,  will  stand 
in  the  way  as  a  check,  to  the  powerful  impetus. 

It  is  sufficient  to  look  over  the  extensive  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  to  understand  that  the  natural  direction 
of  its  growth,  the  point  of  connection  of  its  prodigious 
European  commerce,  and  of  its  rational  defence,  is  Cuba. 
Situated  as  it  were  on  the  very  path,  in  other  hands, 
and  with  different  institutions,  Cuba  is  a  wall  that 
divides  and  interrupts  their  manifest  growth ;  com- 


APPENDIX.  251 

/  ; 

manding  as  she  does  the  narrow  channels  of  Yucatan,17 
and  Florida  from  Cape  San  Antonio  and  the  Mayzi 
Point,  were  she  to  belong  to  a  nation  strong  in  the  seas, 
what  disaster  and  ruin  would  it  not  be  in  her  power  to 
inflict  on  the  American  Union  in  case  of  a  war  !  The 
Americans  know  it,  and  the  efforts  of  their  government 
will  multiply  and  become  more  energetic  to  obtain  her 
annexation  in  proportion  as  their  own  greatness  in 
creases  and  approaches  the  extreme  South  with  their 
settlements,  their  arts,  their  wealth,  their  wants,  and 
their  glory. 

LEON  FRAGUA  DE  CALVO. 


THE  END. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

Cuba  discovered  by  Columbus. — Names  of  the  Island. — Character 
of  the  Natives. — Town  of  Baracoa. — Havana  burnt  in  1538. — Seat 
of  Government  transferred  to  Havana. — Succession  of  Governors. 
— Cultivation  of  Tobacco  and  Sugar  introduced  about  1580. — 
Slavery  introduced  at  the  same  time. — Depredations  of  Pirates. — 
A  Commissioner  of  the  Inquisition  comes  from  Carthagena  to  re 
side  in  Havana. — Jamaica  taken  by  the  English. — Apprehensions 
of  the  Cubans.— The  English  repulsed.— Walls  commenced  round 
the  City  of  Havana  in  1663.— City  of  Santiago  destroyed  by  an 
Earthquake. — Invasion  of  the  Island  by  the  English  in  1762. — 
Morro  Castle  taken  by  them  July  30th,  and  the  City  of  Havana  on 
the  14th  of  August. — Distribution  of  the  Spoils. — Peace  concluded 
with  England  in  1763.— The  Island  restored  to  the  Spaniards. — 
Results  of  the  wise  Policy  of  Las  Casas. — Great  Fire  in  1802. — 
News  of  the  Proceedings  of  Napoleon  in  Spain. — Its  Effects  in 
Cuba. — Negro  Conspiracy. — Different  Captains-General.  PAGE  7 


CHAPTER  II. 

Political  sketch  previous  to  the  XlXth  century. — Indian  population. — 
The  Island  a  military  post. — Commerce  and  Navigation. — Foreign 
trade. — Restrictions  on  trade. — Situation  of  Spain. — Political 
changes  in  1812  and  1820.— The  Constitution  proclaimed. — Ma 
sonic  Societies.— The  old  Spaniards.— Royal  Order  of  1825.— Count 
Villanueva. — Dangers  of  the  Slave  Trade. — Despotic  Encroach 
ments. — Rejection  of  the  Cuban  Deputies  at  Madrid. — General  Ta- 
con. — His  Tyranny  and  Venality. — His  Removal  effected  by  a  Com 
promise. — Fear  of  a  servile  Insurrection. — Cruel  measures  taken 
against  the  Creoles  and  free  people  of  Color. — The  work  of  the 
Countess  of  Merlin. — Anecdotes. — Insurrections  in  different  parts 
of  the  Island. — Enormities  practiced  by  the  officials  of  Govern 
ment.— Their  effect  upon  the  native  Cubans. — Present  distressing 
Situation  of  the  Island. 48 


254  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Geographical  Situation  of  Cuba. — Its  Beauty  and  Fertility. — Differ 
ent  Names  of  the  Island  in  illustration. — Notice  of''  Notes  on  Cuba, 
by  a  Physician." — Trip  to  Guinea. — Beautiful  Farms. — Hedges  of 
Aloes. — Plantain  Fields. — Sugar  and  Coftee  Estates. — Tropical 
Trees. — Singular  way  of  distributing  Milk. — Life  in  Guiues. — 
The  Valley  of  the  Yumuri. — The  Bay  of  Matanzas. — The  Ceiba 
and  Jaguey-marcho. — Subterraneous  River. —  Robbers. — Storm  in 
the  Rainy  Season. — Errors  in  the  "Notes  on  Cuba." — The  Au 
thor's  ludicrous  Mistakes. — False  Notions  of  Slavery. — Oppressive 
Acts  of  the  Officers  of  the  Law. — Bad  Influence  of  the  Slave-Trade 
Party.  ...  93 


CHAPTER  IV. 

yHabits  and  Customs  of  the  Island. — "  Letters  from  Cuba." — Visit  to 
the  Estate  of  Don  Santiago. — The  Quitrin. — The  Calesero. — 
Roads. — The  Tavern  of  "  La  Perfecta." — Hard  Fare. — Manuel's 
Distress. — Interesting  Account  of  Himself. — Sugar  Estate. — Don 
Santiago's  Patriotism. — The  Sugar  Master. — Anecdotes. — Musical 
taste  of  the  Cubans. — The  Cuban  Press. — Story  of  Maria  del  Rosa- 
rio. — Evils  and  Abuses  of  the  Administration  of  Justice.  -  117 


CHAPTER  V. 

Visit  to  the  Country  Residence  of  a  wealthy  Marquis. — Singular  Oc 
casion  of  it. — The  Marquis  and  his  Creditors. — The  Spanish  Judge 
and  the  Advocate. — The  Marchioness  and  her  Guests. — Her  Chil 
dren. — Mode  of  bringing  up  a  Family. — Easy  way  of  dealing  with 
stubborn  Creditors. — The  unfortunate  Potrerero. — Early  Dawn  in 
Cuba. — The  Morning  and  Evening. — Tacon's  Opera  House. — In- 
solence  of  the  Soldiers. — Anecdotes'. — Beauty  of  the  young  Cu 
banese. — The  married  Women. —  Their  Habits  and  Customs.— 
Shopping. —  Exercise  in  the  Volante. —  Children. — The  lower 
Classes. — The  Guagiro. — His  Courtship. — Obsolete  Customs. — 
The  hours  of  the  Oracion. — Conclusion.  ....  137 


CHAPTER  VI. 

State  of  Religion  in  Cuba. — Contrast  with  the  same  in  former  times. 
— The  "  Angelus."-^Flirtations  carried  on  in  the  Churches. — Infix 
delity  universally  prevalent. — Absence  of  all  Religious  Feeling  in 
Families  of  every  class. — No  piety  among  the  Priests. — Their  dis 
gusting  Debaucheries  and  Excesses. — Horrible  instances  of  this  in 
the  priest  Don  Felix  del  Pino. — Roman  Catholicism. — Why  many 
of  the  Cubans  desire  Annexation  with  the  United  States. — -An  ap 
peal  to  the  Christian  philanthropist.  -  -  -  -  15S, 


CONTENTS.  255 

CHAPTER  VII. 

public  Education. — Attempts  to  falsify  Statements. — Official  Items 
from  the  Census  of  1841. — Schools  pillaged  by  the  Treasury. — 
Saco's  Parallel  between  the  Spanish  and  British  Colonies. —  De 
gradation  and  Ignorance  in  the  Country  Regions. — Frightful  Pic 
tures  of  Vice.  ....  .....  KJO 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Cuban  Grievances. — Personal  Liberty. — Personal  Security. — The 
Right  of  Property. — Instances  of  exercise  of  despotic  Power. — 
Senor  Saco. — Number  deported  and  banished  by  Tacon. — The 
same  System  continued. — Taxation  in  Cuba. — Details. — Summary 
of  Grievances. 165 


CHAPTER  IX. 

What  is  to  become  of  Cuba. — Spain  and  her  American  settlements. — 
Cuba  cannot  be  held  by  Spain. — Progress  of  Events. — Right  of 
Cuba  to  Revolutionize. — Must  ultimately  belong  to  England  or  to 
the  United  States.— Reasons  why  it  will  fall  to  the  latter. — Con 
clusion.  187 


APPENDIX, 203 


RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

'•  This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 
on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
'  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


REC.  at 


NOV  2  8 1980 


TO.  CIS.  ^26*81 


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MAY  1  6 1991 


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OCT  1 6  1986 


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LD21— 32m— 1,'75 
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University  of  California  / 

U.C.BEM.EY-      7 


GENERAL  LIBRARY    U.C.  BERKELEY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


